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Dr. Zhu Mei of Wuhan Discovers New Transparent Conductive Materials and Concerns the World
Large-screen smart phones and oversized flat-screen TVs are becoming more and more popular, while the prices of traditional display screen production materials have risen sharply. Finding alternative materials is imminent. On December 14th, Dr. Zhang Lei from Wuhan, the United States, as a first author, published a research report on the “Nature·Materials†online that successfully predicted and confirmed a new class of materials. The new materials he discovered have the potential to reduce There are more than 95% of the display material cost, and the conductive light transmission performance is stronger. The publication of this research has drawn worldwide attention.
As a Ph.D. student, he has not always been immersed in doing scientific research. After going through graduate school work, he more clearly recognized the goals of the future. He jokes that he is an "atypical" Ph.D. On December 19th, Jing Chu Network reporter interviewed Zhang Lei, who is currently studying for a Ph.D. in Materials Science at Penn State University, and unveiled the mystery of his discovery of new materials and his research history.
Junior high school has a scientific dream
Zhang Lei is a native of Wuhan. He was born in 1985. Since he was in junior high school, he has been very interested in physics. In the summer vacation after graduating from junior high school, a popular science book entitled "The Top Ten Physicists" deeply attracted him. The story of the ten physicists recorded in the book promoting the progress of human social science and technology made him deeply touched.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Lei directly filled in the Physics Department of Wuhan University. In 2007, after graduating from the Physics Department of Wuhan University, Zhang Lei received a full scholarship and went to the United States to pursue his postgraduate studies at Arizona State University.
However, after entering the Institute, Zhang Lei encountered confusion. He found that many professors' studies were out of step with reality. Many researchers could not even clearly state their research motivation and the specific problems they wanted to solve. At this point, the school provided him with a research opportunity from the US Department of Energy solar project.
"The purpose is clear, the actual value is better combined with scientific research, so I joined his research group. The development of new materials to promote the development of energy and information industry has become my new goal." Zhang Lei said.
Refused Intel's job opportunities
After graduating from master's degree, Zhang Lei was faced with two choices: First, the mentor recommended him to join a solar cell startup company in Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and continue the research and development of high-efficiency solar cells; Second, Intel company sent him an on-site interview at Phoenix R&D center. invite.
In Silicon Valley, the idea of ​​linking his startup co-founder Dr. Joseph Bach to science and technology and production practice coincides with Zhang Lei’s idea. The two chat with each other at the hotel bar where he stays. 11 in the middle of the night. Dr. Bach admitted him on the spot.
After returning to Phoenix, Zhang Lei rejected Intel's on-site interview invitation and came to Sunnyvale, California, known as the heart of Silicon Valley. Many of Zhang Lei’s colleagues have served as executives and have extensive experience in companies such as Intel, Applied Materials, Qualcomm and Boston Consulting. "This should be the fastest two years of my learning to improve." Zhang Lei said. In 2011, the company received the shares of International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, and officially established a factory with a cost of 50 million US dollars in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. Due to his outstanding performance in the company, Zhang Lei was promoted to Senior Process Integration Engineer in 2011 and returned to China several times in the following years. He helped the company establish a test and inspection center for quality control and greatly improved product yield.
Do not take the unusual road to find new materials
“In English, I like to think of thinking outside the box. Many times, solving problems requires a new path, not an unusual path.†During the two years of working in Silicon Valley, Zhang Lei realized that “improved†and “improved†costs are relatively small and the possibility of failure is low. Small, but the increase is often limited. The innovative "reform" is exactly what schools can do. Schools have funds and talents, and researchers have greater flexibility.
In the summer of 2012, Zhang Lei gave up promising business and chose to return to campus to study for a Ph.D. degree in materials engineering at the prestigious Pennsylvania State University. Chairman of the Board of Directors, Academician Ashok Sinha, a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of the United States, and Dr. Lei Leiping, a National “Planner of the Thousand Talents Program†who is the president of the company’s China region, have repeatedly retained him. However, after listening to Zhang Lei’s ideas, they all expressed their support and gave him generous equity awards.
Zhang Lei returned to the school and placed his research goals on transparent conductive films. “In previous work, transparent conductive films have accounted for a large proportion of the cost of high-efficiency solar cell products. We have spent a lot of effort to improve indium tin oxide materials with limited effectiveness, and currently potential alternative materials in terms of performance and There is still a gap in the feasibility of industrial production.†Zhang Lei said, “In particular, the largest application of transparent conductive materials is the flat panel display, large-screen mobile phones have become the dominant market, but the current mobile phone screen, such as Apple's mobile phone touch screen module occupies With a production cost of 40%, the materials used in mobile phone screens are mainly indium tin oxide, and indium ore is not easy to mined, and the price is higher than that of metal silver, which is priced at approximately 750 US dollars per kilogram.For smart phones and flat panel displays in the future, due to the large size effect, It will also become more and more expensive.At the same time, large-size flat-panel TVs also need more conductive materials, while portable devices need more light-transmissive materials.Indium-tin-oxide materials have been studied for 60 years, and the performance improvement space is also very high. limited."
What kind of material can achieve higher conductivity and higher transparency? Zhang Lei broke the routine and boldly tried new materials. Traditional researchers believe that the design of transparent conductive films starts from “glass†materials (wide bandgap semiconductors such as indium tin oxides) and “doping†electrons to make it conductive. Zhang Lei wondered: Can we have a metal, start from a good conductor, and make it transparent? However, this view was questioned and denied by many people at an early stage. However, Zhang Lei resisted the pressure and locked the material he sought for the strong associative metal. The strong associative metals in the researchers' traditional concept are mainly used to study electromagnetic materials and high-temperature superconductors. No one has ever tried to use them for transparent conductive films.
In the research process, Zhang Lei will stay in the laboratory for more than 10 hours a day. Sometimes because of the concentration and excitement during the experiment, I gradually forgot about the time and inadvertently “wanted†the wanted. Zhang Lei’s school does not allow parking between 2 and 4 am. In the summer of 2014, Zhang Lei received four parking tickets for the school. Subsequently, the instructor made an exception to apply for a 24-hour stop sign for school logistics.
Hard work pays off. At the end of 2014, Zhang Lei finally synthesized a new material called barium vanadate (calcium). "The price of vanadium is about 25 US dollars per kilogram, and calcium strontium is cheaper than vanadium." The research results can make large-screen displays, smart windows, touch screens, and solar cells more efficient and cheaper.
Looking to the future of scientific research: everything is just beginning
Since entering the school, Zhang Lei spends much of his time in the laboratory and rarely rests. As the saying goes, "The light says no practice, but light practice doesn't say silly." Zhang Lei believes that in the early stages of scientific research, there are often many failures, so it is very important to maintain a good attitude and good communication between mentors and colleagues. This is also due to his habit of working in the company. He said: "The success of my current research is due to having a good mentor. Summing up the lessons of failure and communicating with the mentors and classmates is as important as doing the experiment."
Zhang Lei said that his scientific research road is not the same as most research scholars. “I was hesitant to be interviewed. Many of my Hubei classmates are professors of famous universities or experts of the National Thousand Talents Program. I just think that readers who can be used to learning the story of “Learn to Blaster†, especially for friends interested in scientific research, share a little my own scientific research process, find a way to adapt to their own, and persist in going.†Zhang Lei said.
"My scientific research road has only just begun." Zhang Lei said that his goal is to be a college teacher and make influential research. He once consulted with Professor Gary Messing, the director of the Department of Materials Engineering at Penn State University. How would a faculty member of a well-known university admit a faculty applicant? Professor Messing's answer is that "the applicant's experience, experience, potential, and ability to work independently are more important than influential papers." Zhang Lei said: "I will try my best to work hard in this area. I also hope that in the future we can better integrate scientific research and practical technology requirements and promote the common development of production, learning and research." (Reporter Yumei)
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