Correlated orbital control of electronics, magnetism, and topological behavior in rhenates
Abstract
High performance thin films are ubiquitous in electronics for computing, sensing, light generation, energy, and imaging technology. Current and future materials for these applications rely fundamentally on the electronic band structure. The band structures of semiconductors dictate the speed and power of electronic and optical devices. Current research is focused on developing new materials for spintronics and quantum information applications, potentially requiring materials with bands engineered and optimized for spin transport, operation at low and high power, and robust entanglement of quantum states. The project will develop new topological materials engineered by tuning the fundamental energies out of which new band structures and functionalities emerge. The fundamental energies of interest here are crystal field splitting and Hund’s coupling energy of correlated spins, which will be engineered using various strategies for controlling the physical structure at the picoscale. The systems that will be studied involve atomically thin layers of oxidized 5d transition metals that are formed into heterostructures with atomically abrupt interfaces. The atomic-scale structure of the polarizable material will be tuned by changing the chemistry in oxide heterostructures, where specially designed tuning layers influence the properties beyond the interface to adjust the bonding and the low energy correlated orbital manifolds of the material. In addition to elucidating how and to what degree correlated electronic states of single atomic layers can be controllably modified, the research program will search for and understand novel and unexpected electronic phases that may be uncovered (e.g., unusual magnetic configurations, metal-insulator transitions, coupling of electrical and magnetic responses, etc.), which may be revealing for the relatively under-explored class of 5d transition metal oxides.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 21, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95502110173XX0
Entities
People
- Charles Ahn
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- Yale University