James J. Watkins

Professor, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering
Co-Director, MassNanoTech Institute
A616 Conte, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-9292
(413) 545-2569
watkins@polysci.umass.edu
http://www.pse.umass.edu/faculty/researchgroup/watkins

Templating and Deposition Techniques for Nanostructured Materials

We have developed novel templating and deposition techniques for the fabrication of nanostructures in supercritical fluids (SCFs). Examples include reactive depositions of metals that afford exceptional purity and step coverage in topologically complex features. Cu deposition for interconnect structures in advanced ICs is one application. Other examples include the fabrication of robust and uniform mesoporous metal oxide films with exceptional control over pore order and orientation. These materials are prepared by the replication of pre-organized block copolymer templates. The key features of SCFs are the strong temperature and pressure dependences of their physico-chemical properties (density, dielectric constant, viscosity) and the environmentally benign characteristics of solvents.

Research Interest	Potential Application
Additive-driven self-assembly of block co-polymers	Nanostructured materials, photonics, lithography and templates for materials fabrication
Polymer-based templating of nanostructured materials and devices	Nanostructured materials, photonics, lithography and templates for materials fabrication
Scalable nanomanufacturing	Batteries, photonics, separation membranes, photovoltaics, sensors
Materials synthesis and processing in dense phase fluids including supercritical carbon dioxide	Polymer processing, catalysis, environmentally benign processing
Fabrication of mesoporous metal oxide films with exceptional control over pore structure, order and orientation using block copolymer templates	Ultra-low dielectric constant thin films, bioseparations, catalysis, sensors
Reactive deposition of metals and alloys from supercritical carbon dioxide	Microelectronics including interconnect structures, gates, memory and storage devices, catalysis, and sensors
Chemical modification and processing of block copolymers in compressed fluids; polymer physics in these environments	Nanostructured materials, photonics, lithography and templates for materials fabrication

Honors and Awards

Visiting Professor, University of Bordeaux (France) June 2010
Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship, University of Massachusetts (2009)
Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Accomplishment and Creative Activity, University of Massachusetts (2007)
Gold Medal, MRS 2004 Spring Meeting, Graduate Student Paper Competition to R.A. Pai, advisee (2004)
Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, College of Engineering (2001)
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2000-2005)
David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering (1998-2003)

Recent Publications

Zhang, L.; Walker, B.; Liu, F.; Colella, N. S.; Mannsfeld, S. C. B.; Watkins, J. J.; Nguyen, T.-Q.; Briseño, A. L., Triisopropylsilylethynyl-Functionalized Dibenzo[Def,Mno]Chrysene: A Solution-Processed Small Molecule for Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells, JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY, 2012. 22(10): p. 4266-4268.
Wei, Q.; Lin, Y.; Anderson, E.R.; Briseno, A.; Gido, S.P., Watkins, J.J.; "Additive-Driven Assembly of Block Copolymer-Nanoparticle Hybrid Materials for Solution Processable Floating Gate Memory", ACS NANO, 2012. 6(2): p. 1188-1194 .
Lin, Y.; Lim, J. A. ; Wei, Q.; Mannsfeld, S.; Briseno, A.; Watkins, J. J. ""Cooperative Assembly of Hydrogen-bonded Diblock Copolythiophene/Fullerene Blends for Photovoltaic Devices with Well-Defined Morphologies and Enhanced Stability", CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, 2012. 24(3): p. 622-632 .
Mesguich D.; Aymonier, C.; Bassat, J-M; Mauvy, F.; You. E.; Watkins J. J. "Low Temperature Deposition of Undoped Ceria Thin Films in scCO2 as Improved Interlayers for IT-SOFC", CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, 2011. 23(24): p. 5323-5330.
Lin, Y; Daga, V.; Anderson, E.; Gido, S.: Watlkins, J.J., Nanoparticle Driven Assembly of Block Copolymers: A Simple Route to Ordered Hybrid Materials, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 2011. 133(17): p. 6513-6516.