Radical Properties in Functional Oxide Thin Films from Insulators to Superconductors

Since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in perovskite oxides in 1986, the unearthing of a huge range of physical phenomena in transition metal oxides (TMOs) has been nothing short of remarkable, e.g. new... [ view full abstract ]

Since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in perovskite oxides in 1986, the unearthing of a huge range of physical phenomena in transition metal oxides (TMOs) has been nothing short of remarkable, e.g. new magnetics, ferroelectrics, multiferroics, semiconductors, transparent conductors, calorics, plasmonics, catalysts, ionic conductors. Nearly 150,000 papers were published on the topic ‘oxide+thin film’ in the last 10 years, not far from the number published on graphene in this same period. However, there are few applications of complex oxide thin films today.

As stated in a recent perspective publication by the EU commission about emerging applications, “we have passed from the perception that materials are in the drawer to the realisation that materials are the bottleneck”.  Addressing the oxide thin film bottleneck is long overdue. This talk will discuss new insight into and radical property enhancements in oxide thin films through nanostructuring the films. Hence, nanotechnology is merged with thin film science. Examples will be given of unprecedented functional property enhancements in systems such as ferroelectrics, ferromagnetics, superconductors and ionics.