From Atom to Device: The Journey of the King of Materials

If each era is defined by disruptive and influential discoveries and inventions such as fire, wheel and steam engine that enabled quantum leaps in mankind's behavior and lifestyle, our era is inarguably defined by silicon and silicon-based technologies. Indeed, the king of materials has profoundly revolutionized the way we communicate, collect and transfer information, use and preserve natural resources, and interact with our local and global environments. For instance, none of the digital wonders we enjoy today from internet searches to wireless communications would be possible without the mastery of silicon integrated circuits and computer chips. Even after decades of extensive research, silicon is still the modern innovation powerhouse and its terrain is still fertile with a lot to offer and we are perhaps far from unlocking all its secrets. Within this broad context, this lecture will outline the physics and engineering concepts behind current and potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics, spintronics, quantum information, and carbon-free energy conversion. The lecture will also reflect on the outstanding scientific challenges in mainstream and emerging silicon-compatible materials and devices and discuss potential solutions for current and future opportunities.

Oussama Moutanabbir is the Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering Physics of École Polytechnique de Montréal. Before taking the position in Montreal, he worked as Project Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Germany. From 2009 to 2015, he held a joint appointment as Invited Researcher at RIKEN Institute of Advanced Science in Japan. Since 2008, he has been a Visiting Scientist at Northwestern University (USA). As a fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion, he initiated new research directions focusing on isotopically engineered nanoscale and quantum systems in close collaboration with Keio University and UC Berkeley. His research is in materials physics and engineering encompassing fundamental scientific and technological activities. His also made significant contributions at the industrial level through numerous joint collaborations with high-tech companies (AMD, GlobalFoundries, OSRAM, TeledyneDalsa, Applied Materials) focusing primarily on large scale integration of high-performance optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and electronics. He has been playing leadership roles in the International Union of Materials Research Societies. He is co-founder and coordinator of the Global Materials Network, which is a unique platform for researchers from around the around the world to communicate and collaborate in materials research and education.