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Highlights

Jan 30, 2015
CRISP: Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (2011)

Public Lecture: “How Things Work: The Nano of Computers”

In September 2014, CRISP hosted a public lecture to school children and their parents entitled “How Things Work: The Nano of Computers” by Prof. Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, which described how common electronic devices such as computers and cell phones work. The event also featured hands-on demonstrations for participants that included electronic storage, light emitting devices, deconstructed computer processors, and memory devices.
Jan 30, 2015
CRISP: Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (2011)

Using a single atomic layer to turn an insulator into a metal

Kumah, Malashevich, Disa, Arena, Walker, Ismail-Beigi, & Ahn, Phys. Rev. Appl. 2 054004 (2014

By precisely controlling the surface composition of thin oxide films, films can be switched from a metal to an insulator. Atomic-scale control of the surface is achieved using molecular beams of atoms (the molecular beam epitaxy growth method). To understand why the thin film changes from a metal to an insulator, the surface is imaged using x-rays scattered from the film (see 3D image of film on left).
Dec 9, 2014
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

Conducting Highways are Created on the Surface of Magnetic Topological Insulators

Wei, P., Katmis, F., Assaf, B.A., Steinberg, H., Jarillo-Herrero, P., Heiman, D., and Moodera, J.S.

Topological insulators (TIs) are a novel class of quantum materials characterized by an insulating bulk and metallic conducting states at the surface. This metallic behavior however, can be changed by applying a magnetic field or, equivalently, by coupling the TI to a ferromagnetic material. In this work, for the first time, MRSEC researchers have succeeded in turning the TI surface states into an insulating state by coupling the TI to a ferromagnetic insulator.
Dec 9, 2014
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

Thermal Conductivity in an Oxide Material Can be Controlled by Manipulating Oxygen Defects

Luckyanova, M., Chen, D., Ma, W., Tuller, H., Chen, G., Yildiz, B.

The thermal properties of oxides are of interest for a number of important applications, including thermoelectrics, thermal barrier coatings, memristors, and fuel cells. MIT MRSEC researchers demonstrated, for the first time, the controllable impact of oxygen defects on the thermal conductivity of a reducible oxide. The thermal conductivity was modulated by varying the concentration of oxygen vacancies and reduced cations in oxide thin films treated under different annealing conditions.