BES - Material Sciences

Sandia's Materials Science and Engineering Program focuses on scientifically tailored materials. This program capitalizes on Sandia's expertise in the areas of solid-state sciences, advanced atomic-level diagnostics, and materials synthesis and processing science to produce new classes of tailored materials and to enhance the properties of existing materials for US energy applications and for critical defense needs.

Scientifically tailored materials research uses Sandia's experimental, theoretical, and computational capabilities to establish the state of the art in materials science and technology. We often interact with representatives from universities, national laboratories, and industry to define critical needs and plan collaborative efforts. Currently our work comprises the following subjects:

 Several of the technical activities of the program have been incorporated into the DOE Center of Excellence for the Synthesis and Processing of Advanced Materials. Considerable synergy exists in the program, both in related scientific goals and in the use of common synthesis and processing approaches.

We use an array of sophisticated experimental and computational capabilities provided by the Office of Science and other DOE-sponsored programs. Our major leveraged capabilities include teraflop computers; molecular beam epitaxy and chemical vapor deposition facilities; materials synthesis and processing facilities; clean rooms for microfabrication and nanostructuring of materials; ion-beam accelerators; laser-based diagnostics; advanced optical and surface spectroscopy; unique combined high-pressure/low-temperature electric-field facilities; and electron, scanning tunneling, atom tracking, and atomic force microscopy.