Project Info

Si clathrate materials for advanced semiconductors

Carolyn Koh & Reuben Collins | ckoh@mines.edu

The next generation materials, derived from earth abundant materials (such as silicon) could revolutionize the electronics industry for the next generations of devices including computer chips, lasers, detectors. Silicon clathrates are caged crystalline structures, comprised of a silicon host/caged framework that traps small guest ions (e.g. Na+). These novel silicon caged structures have promise to facilitate high efficiency and low cost disruptive electronic and photonic devices. The goal of this project is to perform characterization measurements of these silicon caged structures and related materials using micro-Raman spectroscopy and electron spin resonance spectroscopy to investigate the structural properties of these materials (for both the host and guest) . This is a collaborative project which will involve mentors from CBE and Physics.

More Information

Please see the following publications for further insight into the project:
*Krishna, L., & Koh, C. A. (2015). Inorganic and methane clathrates: Versatility of guest–host compounds for energy harvesting. MRS Energy & Sustainability, 2.

*Warrier, P., & Koh, C. A. (2016). Silicon clathrates for lithium ion batteries: A perspective. Applied Physics Reviews, 3(4), 040805.

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