AbstractsEngineering

Investigation of new fabrication techniques and materials properties are necessary to overcome power and cost constraints facing contemporary electronics as well as enabling new functionality. In this thesis, several experiments to investigate directed self-assembly and the unique properties of plasmons in graphene are described. We first introduce a method to reduce the inherent trade-off in dimension vs geometry present in block copolymer self-assembly. Next we show that the electronic properties of graphene vary from sample to sample and develop a dry transfer technique to reduce the effect of water at the substrate interface. We apply these techniques to investigate the dispersion of confined graphene plasmons in the far-IR. Using self-assembly we extend the frequency of the graphene plasmons into the mid-IR where we directly measure the losses due to phonon coupling and also observe an induced transparency. Finally we present measurements of the performance of a molybdenum disulphide photodetector. These experiments have contributed to our ability to fabricate nanoscale structures, improve the controllability as well as our understanding of the properties of new two dimensional materials. Advisors/Committee Members: Buhrman,Robert A (committeeMember), Rana,Farhan (committeeMember), Steurer,David (committeeMember).