MD Simulation

Abstract: There has been relatively little study on time-dependent mechanical properties of nanowires, in spite of their importance for the design, fabrication and operation of nanoscale devices.

Funded through SNF SINERGIA Project ‘Understanding nanofriction and dissipation across phase transitions’, we open in SISSA a postdoctoral position (‘assegno di ricerca’) in the area centered around nanoscale tribology (friction, dissipation, adhesion, wear) involving modeling, theory, and molecular dynamics computer simulations of nanofrictional and nonlinear dissipation phenomena, especially in presence of continuous phase transitions.

Atomistic simulations show that organosilicates, used as low-permittivity dielectric materials in advanced integrated circuits, can be made substantially stiffer than amorphous silica, while maintaining a lower mass density. The enhanced stiffness is achieved by incorporating organic cross-links to replace bridging oxygen atoms in the silica network. To elucidate the mechanism responsible for the enhanced stiffness, the conformational changes in the network upon hydrostatic and shear loading are examined.

Attached is a post-print of one of my journal papers submitted in 2005.  A brief description of my paper is as follows: