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Amelia CY Liu

Amelia CY Liu

Margaret Clayton Research Fellow

PhD (Physics) University of Melbourne 2003
BSc (Hons)/BA University of Melbourne 1998
Phone +61 (3) 9905 3672 FAX +61 (3) 9905 3637

Email:Amelia.Liu@sci.monash.edu.au

 low magnification transmission electron micrograph

a) low magnification transmission electron micrograph of amorphous As2S3
b) accompanying electron diffraction pattern (with beam stop) showing diffuse rings characteristic of amorphous materials
c) high resolution transmission electron micrograph showing sparsely distributed nanocrystallites embedded in amorphous matrix. See A. C. Y. Liu et. al., J. Appl. Phys., 104, 093524, (2008) for details.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My broad interests are materials science and transmission electron microscopy. I have a particular focus on amorphous materials and glasses. Amorphous solids lack long-range periodic atomic order, and their atomic structure is often poorly understood. By developing transmission electron microscopy techniques to measure the atomic-scale structure of amorphous materials I hope to understand how differences in preparation and treatment give rise to differences in properties. Projects in which I have an abiding interest include:

  • Understanding how composition and method of preparation alter the short (below 1 nm) to medium-range (1-3 nm) atomic order in metallic glasses, amorphous semiconductors, diamond-like carbons and chalcogenide glasses and how this impacts on their behaviours
  • Using measurements of atomic structure to constrain large atomic models of amorphous materials
  • Employing ion irradiation as a means of modifying the structures of amorphous materials and nanotubes

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

  • B. Haberl, A. C. Y. Liu, J. E. Bradby, S. Ruffell, J. S. Williams and P. Monroe. “Characterizations of pressure-induced amorphous silicon”, Phys. Rev. B. 79, 155209 (2009).
  • A. C. Y. Liu, X. Chen, D-Y Choi and B. Luther-Davies. “Morphology and structure of thermally evaporated amorphous As2S3 films for waveguide applications”, J. Appl. Phys., 104, 093524, (2008).
  • D. J. Sordelet, R. Ott, M. Li, S. Wang, C-Z Wang, M. Besser, A. C. Y. Liu, and M. J. Kramer “Crystallization and Structure of ZrxPt100-x (73≤x≤77) Metallic Glasses”. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 39, 1908, (2008).
  • R. Arenal and A. C. Y. Liu. “Clustering of the sp2 phase detected in a highly-hydrogenated diamond-like carbon film using Raman spectroscopy and fluctuation electron microscopy”. Appl. Phys. Lett., 91, 211903, (2007).
  • A. C. Y. Liu, R. Arenal, X. Chen. “Clustering in a highly-hydrogenated diamond-like carbon determined using fluctuation electron microscopy and phenomenological atomistic simulations”. Phys. Rev. B. Rapid Comm. 76, 121401R, (2007) and also featured in the Sept. 17 (2007) issue of the Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology.
  • A. C. Y. Liu, R. Arenal, D. J. Miller, Xidong Chen, J. A. Johnson, O. L. Eryilmaz, A. Erdemir and John. B. Woodford. “Structural order in near-frictionless diamond-like carbon films probed at three different length scales in the transmission electron microscope”. Phys. Rev. B. 75, 205402, (2007).
  • A. C. Y. Liu, D. J. Miller and R. C. Birtcher. “Medium range order in Zr70Pd30 metallic glass under ion irradiation.” Microscopy and Microanalysis, 12(2), 1092CD, (2006).