Oxide materials show a rich spectrum of physical properties, encompassing ferroelectricity, dielectricity, ferromagnetism, colossal magnetoresistance, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity. Therefore, thin films of these oxide materials have a high potential for device applications. A large number of materials is under investigation to be employed in future devices, e.g. in electric field-effect devices, superconducting Josephson junctions, in magnetic tunnel junctions, as exchange bias layers in GMR heads, and in tuneable high-frequency devices.

Thin Films for Novel Oxide Devices (THIOX)

An ESF scientific programme

The potential of these materials for device applications is excellent, but some of the key factors controlling the physics, for instance the doping level and the structural order, are often difficult to control. Moreover, the compatibility of different oxides in terms of interface structure and electronic properties is a poorly understood issue, as are the effects of (substrate-induced) strain. In all cases, structural and electronic properties depend on deposition method and growth conditions, which have to be well understood and controlled. Advanced devices and fine-tuning of the electronic properties of these materials require further research in these areas.

The large amount of parameters and the machinery required for fabrication and analysis make it impossible for any single research group to get a firm grip on these issues, especially since these problems are strongly interdisciplinary in nature. What is needed, and what is aimed for, is more interaction between groups working on physical properties, on growth studies, and on structural / chemical analysis at the atomic level. The groups involved in this programme all play a leading international role in their subfields. However, they realize a need for stronger awareness of all aspects of the materials science, if tailoring of multilayered oxide structures for specific applications is to be successful. This is not a specific European but rather a worldwide problem, and a concerted European action will strongly aid in putting European groups at the forefront of this technologically promising research area. This programme, positioned at the intersection between condensed matter physics, chemistry, and materials science, aims at establishing a European network of groups working on different aspects of thin oxide films and oxide hybrids (combinations of films with different functionalities) with possible compatibility with standard semiconductor technology.

Grain boundary junction

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