Jeffrey Elam
{{short description|American chemist and researcher}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Jeffrey Elam
| alma_mater = Cornell University (BA), University of Chicago (PhD)
| title = Distinguished Fellow, Senior Chemist and Group Leader
| academic_advisors =
| workplaces = Argonne National Laboratory
| known_for = Atomic layer deposition
| awards =
| website = {{url|https://www.anl.gov/profile/jeffrey-w-elam}}
| fields = Chemistry, materials science, thin films
}}
Jeffrey Elam is a Distinguished Fellow, Senior Chemist and Group Leader{{Cite web|url=https://www.anl.gov/profile/jeffrey-w-elam|title=Jeffrey W. Elam {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|website=www.anl.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-10-27}} in the [https://www.anl.gov/amd Applied Materials Division] at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. He leads Argonne's atomic layer deposition (ALD) research program, where he directs research and development and commercialization of thin film coating technologies for energy applications.
Elam is a fellow of the Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering,{{Cite web|url=https://www.naise.northwestern.edu/people/|title=Members – NAISE Institute|website=www.naise.northwestern.edu|access-date=2019-10-27}} and staff member at the Center for Molecular Engineering at Argonne.{{Cite web|title=Staff Directory {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|url=https://www.anl.gov/cme/staff-directory|website=www.anl.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}} He also manages the Functional Coatings Group in Argonne's Applied Materials Division{{Cite web|title=Functional Coatings {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|url=https://www.anl.gov/amd/functional-coatings|website=www.anl.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}} and is a principal investigator in the US-Israel Collaborative Water-Energy Research Center ([https://cowerc.northwestern.edu/ CoWERC]), and the Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems Center,{{Cite web|title=Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems Center {{!}} Our Team {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|url=https://www.anl.gov/amews/our-team|website=www.anl.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}} a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center.
Education
Elam graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, followed by the University of Chicago with a PhD in physical chemistry in the lab of Donald H. Levy.{{Cite web|title=Jeffrey W. Elam {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|url=https://www.anl.gov/profile/jeffrey-w-elam|website=www.anl.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-10-27}} Elam pursued postdoctoral studies with Steven M. George at the University of Colorado where he developed ALD thin film growth methods.{{Cite web|title=Jeffrey W. Elam|url=https://www.aiche.org/community/bio/jeffrey-w-elam|date=2017-08-07|website=www.aiche.org|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}{{Cite web|title=UAH College of Engineering welcomes Dr. Jeffrey W. Elam of Argonne National Laboratory|url=https://www.uah.edu/news/research/uah-college-of-engineering-welcomes-dr-jeffrey-w-elam-of-argonne-national-laboratory|date=2016-11-07|website=The University of Alabama in Huntsville|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}
Research
= Oleo Sponge =
Elam co-invented (with Seth Darling) the Oleo Sponge,{{Cite web|url=https://www.anl.gov/article/argonne-invents-reusable-sponge-that-soaks-up-oil-could-revolutionize-oil-spill-and-diesel-cleanup|title=Argonne invents reusable sponge that soaks up oil, could revolutionize oil spill and diesel cleanup {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|website=www.anl.gov|date=6 March 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-09-27}} a polyurethane foam engineered to absorb oil from water. Researchers engineered the material to be oleophilic and hydrophobic using sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS),{{Cite journal|last1=Elam|first1=J. W.|last2=Biswas|first2=M.|last3=Darling|first3=S.|last4=Yanguas-Gil|first4=A.|last5=Emery|first5=J. D.|last6=Martinson|first6=A. B. F.|last7=Nealey|first7=P. F.|author7-link=Paul Nealey|last8=Segal-Peretz|first8=T.|last9=Peng|first9=Q.|last10=Winterstein|first10=J.|last11=Liddle|first11=J. A.|date=2015-10-02|title=New Insights into Sequential Infiltration Synthesis|journal=ECS Transactions|language=en|volume=69|issue=7|pages=147–157|doi=10.1149/06907.0147ecst|issn=1938-6737|pmc=5424714|pmid=28503252|bibcode=2015ECSTr..69g.147E}} a patented-material synthesis method Elam co-invented that has been cited by multiple companies.{{Cite web|title=The promise of deep grooves {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory|url=https://www.anl.gov/article/the-promise-of-deep-grooves|website=www.anl.gov|date=October 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-30}}{{Cite patent|country=US|number=9786511|title=Sequential infiltration synthesis for advanced lithography|pubdate=2017-10-10 |inventor1-last=Darling|inventor1-first=Seth B.|inventor2-last=Elam|inventor2-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor3-last=Tseng|inventor3-first=Yu-Chih|inventor4-last=Peng|inventor4-first=Qing
|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.machinedesign.com/materials/new-vapor-deposition-method-lets-engineers-build-untraditional-materials|title=New Vapor Deposition Method Lets Engineers Build Untraditional Materials|date=2018-10-12|website=Machine Design|language=en|access-date=2019-09-27}} SIS was used to coat the interior surfaces of the foam with a thin layer of metal oxide “primer” that acts as a glue for attaching a monolayer of oleophilic molecules. The result is a reusable sponge capable of adsorbing up to 90 times its weight in oil.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/video/oleo-sponge-could-make-oil-spill-cleanup-more-efficient/9E2A79EB-E449-40E6-A65F-7CE98CB16DDD.html|title=Oleo Sponge Could Make Oil Spill Cleanup More Efficient|date=March 16, 2017|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=September 25, 2019}}
= Large Area Microchannel Plates =
Elam was part of the team that developed the world's largest microchannel plate (MCP),{{Cite journal|last1=Mane|first1=Anil U.|last2=Peng|first2=Qing|last3=Elam|first3=Jeffrey W.|last4=Bennis|first4=Daniel C.|last5=Craven|first5=Christopher A.|last6=Detarando|first6=Michael A.|last7=Escolas|first7=John R.|last8=Frisch|first8=Henry J.|last9=Jokela|first9=Slade J.|last10=McPhate|first10=Jason|last11=Minot|first11=Michael J.|date=2012-01-01|title=An Atomic Layer Deposition Method to Fabricate Economical and Robust Large Area Microchannel Plates for Photodetectors|journal=Physics Procedia|series=Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics (TIPP 2011)|volume=37|pages=722–732|doi=10.1016/j.phpro.2012.03.720|issn=1875-3892|bibcode=2012PhPro..37..722M|doi-access=free}} a solid-state, 2-dimensional electron amplifier critical to a variety of imaging and sensing applications. This was achieved by using ALD nanocomposite coatings to create a manufacturing strategy for MCPs that drove down cost, improved performance, and widened applications.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/technical-documents/articles/material-matters/nanocomposite-coatings-with-tunable-properties.html|title=Nanocomposite Coatings with Tunable Properties Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition|website=Sigma-Aldrich|language=en|access-date=2019-10-27}} The ALD coatings have been implemented by Incom, Inc. to manufacture large area MCPs{{Cite web|url=https://incomusa.com/mcp/|title=MCP / Microchannel Plate / Photon and Electron Amplification|website=Incom|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-27}} and are being incorporated into large area photodetectors.{{cite arXiv|last1=Adams|first1=Bernhard W.|last2=Attenkofer|first2=Klaus|last3=Bogdan|first3=Mircea|last4=Byrum|first4=Karen|last5=Elagin|first5=Andrey|last6=Elam|first6=Jeffrey W.|last7=Frisch|first7=Henry J.|last8=Genat|first8=Jean-Francois|last9=Grabas|first9=Herve|last10=Gregar|first10=Joseph|last11=Hahn|first11=Elaine|date=2016-03-06|title=A Brief Technical History of the Large-Area Picosecond Photodetector (LAPPD) Collaboration|eprint=1603.01843|class=physics.ins-det}} The patent for fabricating the technology has been cited by more than a dozen companies, including Samsung, Nova Scientific and Nissan.{{Cite patent|country=US|number=8969823|title=Microchannel plate detector and methods for their fabrication|pubdate=2015-03-03|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC|inventor1-last=Elam|inventor1-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor2-last=Mane|inventor2-first=Anil U.|inventor3-last=Peng|inventor3-first=Qing}}
= Scale-up of Transparent Conducting Oxide Coatings =
Elam led a team to create ALD methods for depositing ITO films, a common transparent conducting thin film found in devices such as solar cells, flat panel displays, and touch screens, onto nanoporous supports and over large substrate areas. One patented method,{{Cite patent|title=Method for depositing transparent conducting oxides|pubdate=2018-11-20|country=US|number=10131991|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC|inventor1-last=Elam|inventor1-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor2-last=Libera|inventor2-first=Joseph A.}} which used two oxygen-sources “synergistically”{{Cite journal|last1=Libera|first1=Joseph A.|last2=Hryn|first2=John N.|last3=Elam|first3=Jeffrey W.|date=2011-04-26|title=Indium Oxide Atomic Layer Deposition Facilitated by the Synergy between Oxygen and Water|journal=Chemistry of Materials|volume=23|issue=8|pages=2150–2158|doi=10.1021/cm103637t|issn=0897-4756}} to allow materials to grow at lower-than-normal temperatures, proved capable of coating nanoporous materials with high precision and uniformity.
Publications
Elam has authored over 300 papers on the subject of ALD, his work has been cited over 34,000 times.{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xHYq8BEAAAAJ&hl=en|title=Jeffrey Elam - Google Scholar Citations|website=scholar.google.com|access-date=2019-10-27}} His most cited study, published in 2003, demonstrated the low temperature growth of Al2O3 ALD films—which have the potential to coat thermally fragile substrates such as organic, polymeric, or biological materials—at temperatures as low as 33 °C.{{Cite journal|last1=Groner|first1=M. D.|last2=Fabreguette|first2=F. H.|last3=Elam|first3=J. W.|last4=George|first4=S. M.|date=2004-02-01|title=Low-Temperature Al2O3 Atomic Layer Deposition|journal=Chemistry of Materials|volume=16|issue=4|pages=639–645|doi=10.1021/cm0304546|issn=0897-4756}} His research group has amassed over 50 inventions in ALD coating technology and holds numerous patents.{{Cite web|url=https://patents.justia.com/inventor/jeffrey-w-elam|title=Jeffrey W. Elam Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search|website=patents.justia.com|access-date=2020-02-02}}
Honors
Elam is a fellow of the American Vacuum Society. In 2017, he received the ALD Innovation Award{{Cite web|url=https://ald2018.avs.org/awards/|title=Awards|website=ald2018.avs.org|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-27}} from the AVS for original work and leadership in ALD. In 2019 he received a lifetime achievement award from Argonne.{{Cite web|url=https://today.anl.gov/2019/05/congratulations-to-winners-of-2019-argonne-commercialization-excellence-awards/|title=Congratulations to winners of 2019 Argonne Commercialization Excellence Awards|date=May 21, 2019|website=Argonne Today|access-date=September 25, 2019}}
Notable patents
- Metal fluoride passivation coatings prepared by atomic layer deposition for Li-ion batteries, (2019).{{Cite patent|country=US|number=10177365|title=Metal fluoride passivation coatings prepared by atomic layer deposition for Li-ion batteries|pubdate=2019-01-08|inventor1-last=Mane|inventor1-first=Anil U.|inventor2-last=Elam|inventor2-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor3-last=Park|inventor3-first=Joong Sun|inventor4-last=Croy|inventor4-first=Jason R.|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC}}
- Sequential infiltration synthesis for enhancing multiple-patterning lithography, (2015).{{Cite patent|title=Sequential infiltration synthesis for advanced lithography|pubdate=2015-03-17|country=US|number=8980418|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC|inventor1-last=Darling|inventor1-first=Seth B.|inventor2-last=Elam|inventor2-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor3-last=Tseng|inventor3-first=Yu-Chih|inventor4-last=Peng|inventor4-first=Qing}}
- Tunable Resistance Coatings, (2014).{{Cite patent|country=US|number=8921799|title=Tunable resistance coatings|pubdate=2014-12-30|inventor1-last=Elam|inventor1-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor2-last=Mane|inventor2-first=Anil U.|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC}}
- Growth Rate Control in ALD by Surface Functionalization, (2015).{{Cite patent|country=US|number=8951615|title=Doping control by ALD surface functionalization
|pubdate=2015-02-10|inventor1-last=Elam|inventor1-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor2-last=Yanguas-Gil|inventor2-first=Angel|assign=UChicago Argonne LLC}}
- Microchannel plate detectors and methods for their fabrication, (2015).{{Cite patent|country=US|number=8969823|title=Microchannel plate detector and methods for their fabrication|pubdate=2015-03-03|inventor1-last=Elam|inventor1-first=Jeffrey W.|inventor2-last=Mane|inventor2-first=Anil U.|inventor3-last=Peng|inventor3-first=Qing}}