Since its release in 2010, PeakForce Tapping has led to over 1,000 peer-reviewed publications, and generated over 3,000 citations. In this webinar, Dr. Chanmin Su, who led development of PeakForce Tapping will share the fundamentals behind the piconewton control and quantitative mechanical measurements of PeakForce Tapping and its many enabled AFM modes, such as PeakForce QNM and PeakForce TUNA. The webinar will dissect several successful use cases of PeakForce Tapping technology and discuss the latest and near-future potential of the technology, addressing a broad range of quantitative measurements in chemical ID and nanoelectrics.

Perovskite solar cells are one of the hottest topics today in materials research. Perovskite materials are inexpensive to produce and simple to manufacture. They have witnessed unprecedented progress since initial seminal work in 2009. After key breakthroughs with solid-state perovskite photovoltaics in 2012, research efforts have grown exponentially, and several groups have demonstrated that the perovskite acts as a light absorber and a charge transporter, where the perovskite layer can be deposited using a broad range of techniques. By optimizing the material quality, a remarkable power-conversion efficiency of over 20% has been demonstrated, highlighting the exceptional photovoltaic properties of perovskite materials.

This webinar, complementing the August issue of MRS Bulletin, will highlight various synthesis methods and properties of perovskite solar cells.

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Biomineralization is the process by which living organisms orchestrate the synthesis and organization of minerals (biominerals), which can be viewed as an ancient process for the accumulation of metal ions in living systems. The structure and properties of biominerals is yet to be rivaled by any synthetic effort by scientists to date. The articles in the June issue of MRS Bulletin highlight some of the challenges in characterizing and replicating the biomineralization processes and the role of non-collagenous proteins in the biomineralization process, and the talks presented in this webinar are representative examples of the research detailed in this issue.

Power electronics is the branch of electronics that deals with collecting, delivering, and storing energy, by conversion and control of electrical power. While silicon has been traditionally used for power electronics, it no longer is able to keep up with the evolving requirements of higher efficiency, smaller size, and greater reliability. Enter wide bandgap materials. Researchers are now focusing on materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) to replace silicon for power electronics applications. The articles in the May issue of MRS Bulletin overview research on GaN and SiC for power electronics, and the talks presented in this webinar are representative examples of the research detailed in this issue.

Mechanical property measurement protocols have their origins in metallurgy-metals being the first materials used on a broad industrial scale-as well as in mechanical and civil engineering. Recent decades have evidenced growing interest in applying these methods to biological materials or materials mimicking or replacing biological tissue. However, the mechanical properties of biological materials are highly variable and hard to determine by the traditional protocols. A more slowly emerging thought is that perhaps the mechanical theories underlying the testing protocols emanating from the metals field might not be fully applicable to highly complex, hierarchically organized biological materials and might need further development. The presentations in this webinar highlight the challenge of extending theoretical and applied mechanics to the level needed to satisfactorily and reliably determine the mechanical properties of biological and related materials.

The fabrication of mobile and other electronic devices by three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) is receiving wide attention. The concept of using 3D ICs to extend the limit of Moore’s Law, by combining chip technology and packaging technology, has been explored for more than 10 years. However, we still do not mass produce 3D IC devices due to low yield and reliability, along with high cost. Most problems are caused by materials selection and integration at the small scale. The presentations in this webinar will cover some of the important aspects of materials challenges in 3D ICs, complementing the articles in the March 2015 issue of MRS Bulletin on this topic.

Three Dimensional Integration-An Overview
Subramanian Iyer, IBM

Cu Pillar Bumping for Advanced Packaging
Eric Perfecto, IBM

Cu Through Silicon Vias for Three Dimensional Integration
Chandrasekara Kothandaraman, IBM