Dr. Matthew L. Trawick
Assistant Professor of Physics
D-108 (Office) D-202-203 (Lab) Gottwald Science Center
Office: (804) 289-8253
Fax: (804) 484-1542
http://blog.richmond.edu/physicstrawick
Research:
Condensed matter physics
Polymer Materials
Self-Assembly
Nanotechnology
My research focuses on block copolymer materials, which can spontaneously self-assemble into periodic structures of cylinders or spheres that are on the order of 10 nanometers across. I use these systems as a laboratory for nanoscale physics, studying how periodic patterns are formed and develop with time, a question central to condensed matter physics and materials science. These materials are also important for applications in nanotechnology, and I am interested in using the patterns they generate as templates for nanoscale lithography, which could help make the next generation of computer chips and storage devices. My primary research tool is atomic force microscopy, and my students and I are actively developing new imaging and analysis techniques using our laboratory's state of the art Asylum Research MPF-3D microscope.
Education:
B.A., Oberlin College
M.S., Ph.D., Ohio State University
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Princeton University
Selected Publications:
Cosmin Pancratov, Jacob M. Kurzer, Kelly A. Shaw, and Matthew L. Trawick, “Why Computer Architecture Matters,” Computing in Science and Engineering 10, Number 3, p. 59 (2008). (Additional parts of this three part series: Volume 10, Number 4, p. 71, and Volume 10, Number 5, p. 80.)
Matthew L. Trawick, Dan E. Angelescu, Paul M. Chaikin, and Richard A. Register, “Block copolymer nanolithography,” book chapter in Nanolithography and Patterning Techniques in Microelectronics, D. G. Bucknall, Editor, Woodhead Publishing, 2005.
D. E. Angelescu, C. K. Harrison, M. L. Trawick, R. A. Register, and P. M. Chaikin, “Two-dimensional melting transition observed in a block copolymer,” Physical Review Letters 95, 025702 (2005). Reviewed in Nature 437, 824 (2005).
Daniel A. Vega, Christopher K. Harrison, Dan E. Angelescu, Matthew L. Trawick, David A. Huse, Paul M. Chaikin, Richard A. Register, “Ordering in two dimensional sphere-forming block copolymers,” Physical Review E 71, 061803 (2005).
C. Harrison, D. E. Angelescu, M. Trawick, Z. Cheng, D. A. Huse, P. M. Chaikin, D. A. Vega, J. M. Sebastian, R.A. Register, D. H. Adamson, “Pattern Coarsening in a 2D hexagonal system,” Europhysics Letters 67, 800 (2004).
D. E. Angelescu, C. K. Harrison, M. L. Trawick, P. M. Chaikin, R. A. Register, and D. H. Adamson, “Orientation imaging microscopy in two-dimensional crystals via undersampled microscopy,” Applied Physics A-Materials Science & Processing 78, 387-392 (2004).
Matthew L. Trawick, Dan E. Angelescu, Paul M. Chaikin, Michael J. Valenti, and Richard A. Register, “A replaceable, low thermal mass hot stage for scanning probe microscopy,” Review of Scientific Instruments 74, 1390 (2003).
Matthew L. Trawick, Mischa Megens, Christopher Harrison, Dan E. Angelescu, Daniel A. Vega, Paul M. Chaikin, Richard A. Register, and Douglas H. Adamson, “Correction for piezoelectric creep in scanning probe microscopy images using polynomial mapping,” Scanning 25, 25 (2003).