The coupling of the magnetic and ferroelectric order in multiferroics produces new excitations of mixed magnetic (magnons) and lattice (phonons) character ; electro-magnons.
Multiferroic Y(Lu)MnO3 undergoes an isostructural transition at the magnetic Neel transition, producing giant atomic displacement for every atom in the unit cell.
Electrochemical oxidation of aluminum produces very regular arrays of nanopores. UMD-MRSEC researchers are mastering (1) nanopore synthesis and (2) deposition of coaxial multilayers of ultrathin films into the nanopores to create a new generation of devices for storing electrical energy that function as supercapacitors and batteries.
Mobility measures how fast electrons travel in a material when an electric field (i.e.
Materials with a negative refractive index can form super-resolution planar lenses, sub-surface cameras or compact resonators which are otherwise impossible to realize. MRSEC researchers have predicted for the first time a tunable negative-index material with low loss, using liquid crystals, whose operating wavelength can be changed by controlling the liquid crystal orientation.
Bimetallic gold/platinum nanorod motors spontaneously move towards hydrogen peroxide fuel when they are placed in a fuel gradient, the first time this behavior has been seen outside of the biological world. Download
Semiconductors with narrow energy gaps have electronic properties, including a high mobility and strong spin-orbit coupling, that are advantageous for electronic device applications. The switching speed of a field-effect transistor and the sensitivity of a geometrical magnetoresistor are improved by a high carrier mobility.
"I never knew I was so good in science. I'm going to be a research scientist when I grow up!"
CRISP, the Yale MRSEC, has constructed a safe, user-friendly, oxide molecular beam epitaxy facility that is simple enough for effective use by undergraduates, yet capable of preparing research-grade samples
