From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 12: Completing a Small Research Project? A Mathematical Model of Fuzzy Relationships!
"You actually asked a question during the meeting!"

"Really awesome!"

As soon as Chen Lanjun returned to her workroom, she said with surprise, "This kind of meeting feels completely unrelated to us, and the discussions were very professional and in-depth."

"We usually just listen, we don't say anything, and we can't say anything at all..."

Liao Shuyan came in from outside and gave Zhang Minghao a thumbs up, "Awesome!"

They were just doctoral students.

The doctoral student claims to be participating in the project, but in reality, he is just learning from his supervisor and is a "doing odd jobs apprentice".

The project itself has nothing to do with them.

Their sole purpose in participating in the project was to conduct research and write papers, in order to first pass the 'graduation' hurdle.

Doctoral students have very low project participation; they basically just do whatever their supervisor tells them to do.

Attending the conference was arranged by my supervisor; it was just a formality to get a feel for the research direction.

Zhang Minghao spoke at the meeting, asking questions about the project's main research direction, and even expressing his optimism about the research direction of tinene.

Chen Lanjun and Liao Shuyan both felt it was very impressive.

Putting aside the content of the speech, it's already quite remarkable that they dared to speak at the meeting.

Zhang Minghao explained, "I just think the direction of stanene is quite good."

"As far as I know, the research on stanene has been going on for a year, right? Even if the direction was wrong in the second half of the year, a lot of experimental data has been accumulated. It would be a pity to stop now."

In fact, it's not just about 'feeling'; 'Correct Perception' can help determine the general direction of research.

The tinene direction is a viable option.

That's the conclusion.

After waiting in the workroom for a short while, Xue Kun stood at the door and called his name.

The two went to the main office together.

There was no one else in the office, and Xue Kun brought up the meeting, saying, "Your question at the meeting about tinene was something we had already discussed."

Zhang Minghao immediately asked, "Why not continue? The tinene field has potential, doesn't it?"

"It's hard."

Xue Kun pursed his lips. "I don't know if there's any future in it, but we failed and wasted half a year. Continuing the research would be too costly and have a low probability of return, just like Professor Zhu said."

He patiently explained, "There have been achievements in the field of tinene, both domestically and internationally. For example, some teams have produced high-quality tinene."

"Although the conditions were special and it had no practical value, and even routine testing was very difficult, it was still manufactured."

"We need to produce results. We can't just say it's 'theoretical creation.' We must have actual discoveries. At the very least, we need to use new methods to manufacture it, and the research results must be published in T1 or SCI Q1 journals."

"Starting from scratch again is too difficult."

Xue Kun paused after speaking, then continued, "Thermoelectric materials are different; they can be used to conduct many basic experiments."

"Some thermoelectric materials have already been applied. Expanding research into metamaterials around these materials can, at the very least, contribute a few papers..."

He shook his head after saying that, "Don't think about these things."

“We’ve already decided on your research direction. You’ll be starting your doctoral program next week. You’ll need to retake your first-year doctoral courses, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you. Take advantage of your free time to learn as much as you can.”

"When things get busy in a while, you'll have to help me with the experiments."

What Xue Kun said was very practical.

Zhang Minghao also agreed that this made sense; caring about the direction of the project was not very meaningful, but acquiring more knowledge was the key.

It's not because of my status as a doctoral student or my level of involvement in the project, but rather because even if I know that the tinene direction is viable, what can I do about it?

Unless specific research methods for tinene are provided, or clear theoretical support is given, the project team still needs to start with basic experimental research.

Even if you're heading in the right direction, it's pointless if you don't know the specific steps to take.

Also, the experiment at Donggang University.

Metamaterial property testing experiments revealed that the motion of air molecules was affected.

It could no longer be replicated.

We now know the experiment was correct, but how exactly do we replicate it?
Even if you haven't started the experiment yet, you can foresee the problems you'll encounter. If you follow the original design step by step, you'll only end up failing to replicate it.

Because something must be missing in the middle!
……

The following week, Zhang Minghao completed the enrollment procedures.

Only a small number of doctoral students will enroll in March, and I didn't even see a single classmate when I went through the registration process.

After completing the formalities, I told Xue Kun.

He acted like a seasoned student, carrying his backpack and plunging into the library.

He found an empty seat in the library and, as usual, took out a large stack of materials, mostly foreign research papers, along with a few professional books.

Topology, Electromagnetic Physics Analysis, Semiconductor Characteristics and Manufacturing, etc.

He wants to study the theoretical and mathematical foundations related to electromagnetic metamaterials.

There are two main directions, one of which is an extremely complex electromagnetic topology.

The theoretical basis of tinene involves topology in mathematics, and some related theories even involve the representation of high-dimensional topology in three-dimensional space.

To understand the principles of stanene, one must be able to perform certain electromagnetic topological analysis.

The other is the theoretical foundation of semiconductors.

The field of tinene is closely related to semiconductor research.

Stannine is not a semiconductor material in the traditional sense, but it does possess some semiconductor properties, and its preparation method is very similar to that of semiconductors.

Semiconductors are also manufactured using substrates.

Semiconductors have a wide range of applications, and the relevant information is quite comprehensive.

Semiconductor substrates are substrates made from semiconductor materials and serve as the basic platform for device manufacturing. They must possess characteristics such as high purity, excellent crystal quality, and suitable thermal conductivity, as their material properties directly affect the performance of the devices.

For example, substrate materials such as silicon, gallium arsenide, and silicon carbide each correspond to a specific semiconductor manufacturing direction. Zhang Minghao studied semiconductor manufacturing technology in detail and also discovered a problem—

The 'precision' of semiconductor manufacturing theory and technology is still insufficient to meet the requirements of tinene research.

"The characteristics of semiconductor substrates can affect the performance of devices, but only roughly. All kinds of basic data are experimental test results at the real level, and there is little research down to the level of electron movement."

"Can the various performance data of the manufactured devices be put together and correlated with a certain property of the substrate material?"

"This is how we construct a mathematical model relating the substrate and the material..."

……

For a whole week, Zhang Minghao went to the library every single day without fail.

He devoted all his energy to studying, reading papers, researching basic theoretical materials, and occasionally writing down complex mathematical problems.

As a large amount of new knowledge filled his mind, his understanding of fields such as electromagnetic physics and semiconductors improved significantly, and his thinking seemed to become more flexible.
The system also acknowledged his feeling—

[Thinking assessment score +1.]

[Thinking level: 79.]

I added a little more!
What is now certain is that an improvement in the 'thinking assessment' score is not only a reflection of increased knowledge, but also of a more flexible mind.

"Does increased knowledge really make the brain more agile?"

"Or is it a system problem?"

Without a system, one might not even notice when their thinking becomes more agile, perhaps attributing it to the effects of drinking coffee, or even being completely unaware of it.

Since there's a system, I paid special attention to it.

This is based on comparison.

For example, when doing mental arithmetic problems of the same difficulty, the completion speed is indeed a little faster than before.

"As knowledge increases, thinking also becomes more flexible, which means becoming smarter and having a higher IQ?"

"Is it possible that one day, someone's IQ will surpass that of Einstein?"

Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.

After shutting down the system, he continued to focus and, having accumulated a wealth of basic knowledge, was able to continue his research along the lines of his original ideas.

How to construct a mathematical model relating the substrate and the material?

What properties of the substrate are directly related to the material properties of the manufactured device?

The answer is in my mind—

Atomic arrangement and electronic activity.

"So, what properties of the semiconductor device material are affected by the atomic arrangement and electronic activity of the substrate?"

While thinking, list out the characteristics of semiconductor devices one by one, and then use "Correct Perception" to understand the related characteristics. The next step is to establish the relationship between the two.

While "Correct Perception" can reveal related characteristics, constructing a mathematical model linking substrate atomic arrangement, electronic activity, and device characteristics is not something that can be achieved simply by using capabilities.

That requires careful study and step-by-step association. First, we need to establish fuzzy relationships between the characteristics.

Over the next few days, Zhang Minghao gathered a large amount of information, including data, papers, experimental data, and so on. He needed a great deal of precise data.

However, there is very little publicly available data on this topic; some can be found online, but others can only be found in academic papers.

Even with very little data, it is sufficient to establish fuzzy relationships and determine the range of values.

After confirming step by step with "Correct Perception", and spending another two days, he finally completed the "fuzzy mathematical correlation model between atomic arrangement, electronic activity and device characteristics of semiconductor substrate materials".

In fuzzy correlation, all parameters are within a 'range of values', while the model has already been determined to be correct.

If we want to go further and construct a more accurate mathematical model, we need a large amount of accurate data to fill in and improve it.

After more than ten days of continuous study and research, it was still very tiring.

After writing down the 'fuzzy correlation mathematical model', Zhang Minghao relaxed completely. He stretched and muttered, "It's time to take a break."

You must take care of your health!

"We can't do that, or our health will collapse again... How about this, we'll start exercising tomorrow!"

"Today first..."

"Oh right, I have class!"

He suddenly realized what was happening.

A quick glance at the course schedule revealed that it was "Mathematical Methods," a core professional course for doctoral students in the Physics Department.

More importantly, the course has ended.

At the start of the semester, I missed a class, which was a very important professional course. Even though I understood the course "Mathematical Methods," I still felt a little depressed.

"Dudu..."

The phone rang; it was Xue Kun calling.

After the call connected, Xue Kun asked with a puzzled look, "Zhang Minghao, why didn't you go to class?"

"Even if you've studied it, you still have to attend the first class. Professor Yao even came to me..."

"Uh... I forgot."

Zhang Minghao replied awkwardly, "I've been doing some research these past few days, and I got too engrossed in it."

"What research?"

"Semiconductor-related research involves building a mathematical model that establishes a fuzzy relationship between the atomic arrangement, electronic activity, and device characteristics of semiconductor substrate materials."

There was a long silence on the other end.

After waiting for quite a while, Xue Kun's somewhat deep voice finally came through the receiver, "Is it finished?"

"Put it together and bring it here."

"Professor Yao is here too, let's take a look together."

(End of this chapter)