HIGH DIELECTRIC ENDOHEDRAL FULLERENE FILMS

ALTHOUGH THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF C60 BUCKMINSTERFULLERENE ARE INTRIGUING, THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY USEFUL BEHAVIOR WILL BE DERIVED FROM ENDOHEDRAL AND INTERSTITIAL METAL FULLERENE COMPLEXES. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH DIELECTRIC STRENGTH CAPACITORS BASED ON THIN FILMS OF ENDOHEDRAL FULLERENE COMPLEXES (FULLERENES-WITH-METALS-INSIDE, E.G., M@C60) IS PROPOSED. THE FILMS WILL EXHIBIT HIGH POLARIZATIONS DUE TO THE CREATION OF LARGE DIPOLE MOMENTS WITHIN EACH FULLERENE CAGE. THE FACE-CENTERED CUBIC THIN FILMS OF M@C60 WILL EXHIBIT HIGH SATURIZATION POLARIZATIONS DUE TO THE ANION-CATION SEPARATION ALLOWED BY THE LARGE INTERIOR VOLUME OF THE FULLERENE CAGE. SUCH FILMS SHOULD BE ISOTROPIC, READILY DEPOSITED, AND COMPATIBLE WITH CONVENTIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS SUCH AS SI AND GAAS. FURTHERMORE, THERE EXISTS THE POSSIBILITY THAT ENDOHEDRAL FULLERENES INTERCALATED WITH INTERSTITIAL (EXOHEDRAL) ALKALI IONS (E.G., K(M@C60) WILL EXHIBIT FERROELECTRIC PROPERTIES. A CHARACTERIZATION OF ELECTRONIC, OPTICAL, AND ELECTRO-OPTICAL PROPERTIES IS PROPOSED TO PROVIDE A DESIGN BASIS FOR THIN FILM CAPACITOR DEVICES. PHASE II WOULD SEEK TO OPTIMIZE DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF ENDOHEDRAL AND ENDOHEDRAL-INTERSTITIAL FULLERENE COMPLEXES, FABRICATION OF DIELECTRIC DEVICES, AND DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE-STEP DEPOSITION PROTOCOLS. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - 1) CAPACITORS FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS ON SI AND GAAS; 2) LARGE AREA DIELECTRIC COATINGS DEPOSITED AT LOW TEMPERATURE; 3) BISTABLE HARDENED MEMORY APPLICATIONS; 4) SWITCHABLE NONLINEAR OPTICAL EFFECTS.