Thin film materials

Thin film optical elements

Research outcomes include thin-film material preparation, defects such as grain boundaries and surface triple junctions, local stress generation, and mechanical behavior; manufacturability and reliability of metal thin films (at the atomic scale) for IC nano-interconnects; machine learning applications; development and application of the conductive diamond probe technology for advanced IC metrology; and thin-film optical elements made of diamond films. Worked on XX corporate research-in-residence for more than 10 years and received XX Corporate Outstanding Research Award.

2006-09--2011-06  Nanjing University Ph.D. 
2002-09--2006-06  Nanjing University of Science and Technology B. Sc. 

2024-08~ until now, SIOM

2013-04~2024-07, Corporate research lab in residence

2011-07~2024-07, Trinity College Dublin, Postdoc., research fellow

Selected Papers

[1] X. Zhang, J.J. Boland, Core shift controls grain boundary energy scaling in Cu and Al, Acta Mater 265 (2024) 119606.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.119606

[2] X. Zhang, M. Wang, H. Wang, M. Upmanyu, J.J. Boland, Restructuring of emergent grain boundaries at free surfaces – An interplay between core stabilization and elastic stress generation, Acta Mater 242 (2023) 118432.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.118432 

[3] X. Zhang, I. Demirel, J.J. Boland, Wedge disclination description of emergent core-shifted grain boundaries at free surfaces, Scripta Mater 234 (2023) 115562.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2023.115562

[4] X. Zhang, J. Han, J.J. Plombon, A.P. Sutton, D.J. Srolovitz, J.J. Boland, Nanocrystalline copper films are never flat, Science 357(6349) (2017) 397-400.  DOI: 10.1126/science.aan4797

（1） Core shift controls grain boundary energy scaling in Cu and Al, ACTA MATERIALIA, 2024,

（2） Restructuring of emergent grain boundaries at free surfaces an interplay between core stabilization and elastic stress generation, ACTA MATERIALIA, 2023,

 （3） Wedge disclination description of emergent core-shifted grain boundaries at free surfaces, SCRIPTA MATERIALIA, 2023, 

（4） Universal preference for low energy core-shifted grain boundaries at the surfaces of fcc metals, PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH, 2023, 

（5） Nanocrystalline copper films are never flat, SCIENCE, 2017, 

（6） From self-assembly to quantum guiding:A review of magnetic atomic structures on noble metal surfaces, Chinese Physics B, 2014, 

（7） Spectroscopy of self-assembled one-dimensional atomic string: The role of step edge, APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, 2013, 

（8） Self-organized Gd atomic superlattice on Ag(111): Scanning tunneling microscopy and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, SURFACE SCIENCE, 2013, 

（9） Anomalous temperature dependence of antistripe width in the annealing of submonolayer Fe on Ru(0001), PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 2011, 

（10） Magnetization splitting in Landau and diamond-domain structures: Dependence on exchange interaction, anisotropy, and size, PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 2011, 

（11） Atomic superlattice formation mechanism revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 2010, 

（12） Control of ultranarrow Co magnetic domain wall widths in artificially patterned H-bar structures, APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, 2009, 

Metallic thin-film materials and related applications

Trinity College Dublin, RWTH Aachen University, City University of Hong Kong, et alia

现指导学生

单海天  硕士研究生  085408-光电信息工程  

Intel outstanding researcher award 2018