Research Team from University of Arkansas Studies Complex Oxide Interfaces

Jak Chakhalian from the University of Arkansas, A.J. Millis from Columbia University and J. Rondinelli of Drexel University are carrying out a study of complicated oxide interfaces which contain electrons that are bonded strongly.

Oxide interfaces are structures that are created artificially using materials called transition metal oxides. They have the potential to substantially change the way electronic devices are made, however scientists have encountered various issues in the past while handling the interfaces in terms of understanding the reason behind the behaviour of oxide interfaces and synthesising these materials at the atomic level.

The research team from the University of Arkansas has been conducting studies to address these issues by trying to cultivate or grow the material in unconventional directions. Chakhalian has established that when the oxide interface is grown along the diagonal of a cube it takes up hexagonal and triangular shapes. At the same time when the interface is grown on a horizontal platform it takes up a cubic pattern. By forcing the materials to grow in directions where they would not grow otherwise, new materials with new electronic properties can be formed.

The next element that the team tested was to create interfaces between oxide materials and materials where oxide is replaced by some other element. This too leads in the formation of new materials with new electronic properties. These findings have great potential to revolutionise the nanoelectronics industry.