Dr. Brian Everhart and Dr. Nick Glavin from Air Force Research Laboratory will give a seminar titled "Laser Processing Phase Diagrams and Discovering Electronic Materials Faster" to the interested faculty and students at Discovery Park.

Abstract

For more than 130 years, the material phase diagram has been a foundational tool for materials scientists and engineers to understand the interplay between processing conditions such as temperature or pressure and the resultant influence on the phase, state, or composition of a material. Recent growth in materials discovery coincides with the widespread integration of AI and machine learning. However, thin-film and coating research continues to lean on the slow, tedious, and Edisonian research practices of the past. Among the many available computational and experimental tools to accelerate materials discovery, the laser processing thin film phase diagram is emerging to circumvent the traditional materials development cycle and harness the power of accelerated research. These phase diagrams are made possible by controllably inducing local heating in a thin film material, which when coupled with high throughput analysis can enable thousands of unique processing conditions on a single chip. In this talk, we will show how laser processing can be harnessed for generating thin film phase diagrams, converting what is traditionally a slow, sequential optimization problem into a high-throughput parallel exploration of processing space, enabling the synthesis of novel materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides and oxide thin films. By coupling these phase diagrams with high-throughput structural, chemical, and optical characterization, we transform thin film development from an open-ended trial-and-error process into a data-rich, designable workflow that accelerates the translation of emerging materials into next-generation electronics and sensing applications.

Bio

Dr. Nicholas Glavin is a Senior Materials Engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) within the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. He is currently serving as lead for the Devices for Electronics and Photonics microelectronics fabrication facility and is leading efforts in advanced computing/edge artificial intelligence, 2D electronic materials, advanced processing, and heterogeneous integration of thin films. Holding a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and a MS/BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton, he is recognized for his expertise in material synthesis, processing and implementation into relevant applications. He has received numerous awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE), the AFRL Early Career Award, the American Vacuum Society Paul Holloway Young Investigator Award, and the American Vacuum Society Peter Mark Award. He currently serves as Associate Editor for MRS Advances and has authored over 125 peer-reviewed publications with more than 5000 citations.

Bio

Dr. Brian Everhart is a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Dayton, Ohio. He develops high-throughput laser processing and characterization strategies to rapidly design and optimize thin-film materials for electronic, optoelectronic, and light-driven energy-conversion applications. His research spans non-equilibrium metal oxides, 2D transition-metal chalcogenides, conductive nitrides, and halide perovskites, with a focus on mapping non-equilibrium phase space and directly linking processing, structure, and function using advanced X-ray and spectroscopic methods. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University in December of 2022 and was awarded the 2024 Graeme E. Murch Award for his contributions to diffusion-mediated phase transformations in laser-processed thin films.