Prof. Emeritus Yeshayahu (Shay) Lifshitz

  • B.Sc. 1968 (Hebrew University)
  • M.Sc. 1976 (Tel Aviv University)
  • Ph.D. 1984 (Weizmann Institute)

Prof. Lifshitz joined the Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne on 1971 where he was working until 2004 (before joining the Technion). Between 1981 and 1987 he was the head of the thin films section at Soreq. In parallel, between 1985 and 1987 he was a research associate at the Weizmann Institute. Between 1988 and 1989 he was a visiting professor at the Chemistry Department of the University of Houston where he originated the “subplantation model” describing the growth of films from energetic species (such species are the basis of modern film deposition techniques). Between 1989 and 2001 he was the founding head of the space technology center of Soreq which is a national center of knowledge supporting the Israeli Space Industry in all aspects related to the compatibility of materials, electronic devices and systems to the space environments. Since 1999 he is an adjunct professor at City University Hong Kong and a frequent visiting professor there. Between 2001 and 2003 he was a chair professor of materials science at the department of physics and materials science of City University Hong Kong (eminent professors program). He joined the Technion as a full professor on November 2004. Professor Lifshitz is a member of the organizing committees and an invited speaker of the major international conferences in diamond and related materials and in materials in space.

Our group is involved in nanostructuring of inorganic materials in two fundamental approaches: (1) self assembly of nanostructures of silicon and other semiconducting materials by CVD methods (laser ablation and thermal CVD), (2) nanostructuring novel materials (e.g. carbon, MoS2, WS2) by energetic species.

Our study of self assembly of nanostructures of silicon and other semiconducting materials aims at the controlled growth of these nanostructures, the elucidation of the growth mechanisms and the establishment of the correlation between size/structure/morphology and the related properties which is the essence of nanoscience. Such nanostructures (0D – nanospheres connected to chains, 1D – nanowires, 2D – nanoribbons) are expected to serve as building blocks for future electronic and optical devices. They will be explored in our group as building blocks of physical, chemical and biological sensors.

The study of nanostructuring novel materials (e.g. carbon) by energetic species is based on the idea that deposition using energetic species is a “nano-high-pressure-high-temperature” technique in which the bombarded matrix serves as a nano-high-pressure cell and the species energy is equivalent to high temperature. By applying energetic species and playing around with the species type, energy and target temperature we expect to be able to form exotic metastable structures (some of which are known from high pressure high temperature experiments in massive systems which produce powders of these phases) in thin films, that will be applicable for electronic and mechanical utilizations. Our source of energetic species is a filtered vacuum cathodic arc system.

  • I. Amarilio-Burshtein, S. Tamir, Y. Lifshitz, “Growth modes of ZnO nanostructures from laser ablation”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 103104, 2010.
  • V. Kobrinsky, A. Rothschild, V. Lumelsky, Y. Komem and Y. Lifshitz, “Tailoring the gas sensing properties of ZnO thin films through oxygen non-stoichiometry”, Appl. Phys. Lett.93, 113502, 2008.
  • I. Aharonovich, Y. Lifshitz, Sh. Tamir, “Growth mechanisms of amorphous SiOx nanowires”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 263109, 2007.
  • R.Q. Zhang, Y. Lifshitz, D.D.D. Ma, Y.L. Zhao, Th. Frauenheim, S.T. Lee, and S.Y. Tong, “Structures and energetics of hydrogen-terminated silicon nanowire surfaces”, J. Chem Phys123, 144703, 2005.
  • Y. Lifshitz, “Carbon forms Structured by Energetic Species: Amorphous, Nanotubes, and Crystalline”, The Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, pp. 415 – 424, 2004.
  • J.A. Zapien, Y. Jiang, X.M. Meng, W. Chen, F.C.K. Au, Y. Lifshitz , & S.T. Lee, “Room-Temperature Single Nanoribbon Lasers”, Appl. Phys. Lett.84(7) 1189, 2004.
  • Y. Lifshitz, X. M. Meng, S.T. Lee, R. Akhveldiany and A. Hoffman, “Visualization of Diamond Nucleation and Growth from Energetic Species”, Phys. Rev. Lett.93(5), 56101, 2004.
  • S.T. Lee, Y. Lifshitz, “The road to diamond wafers”, Nature424, 500, 2003.
  • R.Q. Zhang, Y. Lifshitz, S.T. Lee, “Oxide assisted growth of silicon nanowires”, Advanced Materials 7-8, 635, 2003.
  • Y. Lifshitz, Th. Köhler, Th. Frauenheim, I. Guzmann, A. Hoffman, R.Q. Zhang, X.T. Zhou, S.T. Lee, “The mechanism of diamond nucleation from energetic species”, Science297, 1531, 2002.
  • H.Y. Peng, N. Wang, Y.F. Zheng, Y. Lifshitz, J. Kulik, R.Q. Zhang C. S. Lee and S.T. Lee, “Smallest Diameter Carbon Nanotubes”, Appl. Phys. Lett., 77(18), 2831, 2000.
  • S. T. Lee, H.Y. Peng, X. T. Zhou, N. Wang, C. S. Lee, Y. Lifshitz, “A Nucleation Site and Mechanism Leading to Epitaxial Growth of Diamond Films”, Science287, 104, 2000.
  • Y. Lifshitz, “Diamondlike carbon – Present Status”, Diamond & Rel. Mater., 8, 1659, 1999.
  • S. Uhlmann, Th. Frauenheim, Y. Lifshitz, “Molecular Dynamics Study of the Fundamental Processes Involved in Subplantation of Diamondlike Carbon”, Phys. Rev. Lett81(3), 641, 1998.
  • Y. Lifshitz, G.D. Lempert, E. Grossman, “Substantiation of Subplantation Model for Diamondlike Film Growth from Energetic Specires by Atomic Force Microscopy”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 72 (17), 2753, 1994.
  • Y. Lifshitz, S.R. Kasi and J.W. Rabalais, “Subplantation Model for Film Growth From Hyperthermal Species: Application to Diamond”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 62, 1290, 1989.