Mechano-Chemical Understanding of Solid Ion Conductors (MUSIC)

Director

Jeff Sakamoto

Lead Institution

University of Michigan

Class

2022-2026

Mission

to reveal, understand, model, and ultimately control the chemo-mechanical phenomena underlying the processing and electrochemical dynamics of ceramic ion conductors (CICs) for clean energy systems.

Partner Institutions

Univ of Michigan
MIT
Northwestern
UT Austin
Georgia Tech
Princeton
UIUC
ORNL
Purdue

Quick Facts

Single Slide Overview
Technical Summary
http://music.engin.umich.edu/

BES Staff Contact

Craig Henderson

Grand Challenges Addressed

Transformative Opportunities Addressed

Mastering Hierarchical Architectures and Beyond-Equilibrium Matter

Trans. Opp. #1

Understanding the Critical Roles of Heterogeneity, Interfaces, and Disorder

Trans. Opp. #2

Revolutionary Advances in Models, Mathematics, Algorithms, Data, and Computing

Trans. Opp. #4

Exploiting Transformative Advances in Imaging Capabilities across Multiple Scales

Trans. Opp. #5

BES Reports Addressed

Highlights

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A metallic line atop a medium biased at the edge of chaos can provide effective negative resistance for time-varying signals, outputting a larger signal compared to its input. The energy for amplification comes from the static bias applied to the medium.

The “Edge of Chaos” Amplifies Signals Without Transistors

Emulating the edge of chaos of axons enables a metal wire to overcome its resistance without cooling, thereby amplifying signals flowing inside of it.

Infrared laser light (red beam) illuminates the surface of ZrSiSe and mixes with electron oscillations enabled by an atomic force microscope (silver cone), propagating light as ray-like structures that guide the light through the interior (blue zig-zag).

What If Metals Could Conduct Light?

In the unusual world of quantum materials, metals can guide light in their interiors instead of merely reflecting it.