CAREER: Revolutionizing Functional and Quantum Materials with Atomic Control of Order and Disorder

Nontechnical description: Atomic-scale order and disorder play key roles in shaping materials behavior for modern technologies such as efficient computing and quantum computing. However, controlling and measuring the structure of atoms in materials with disorder is notoriously difficult. This project will develop new methods to control and observe the arrangement of atoms at the smallest scales, by coupling advanced synthesis and microscopy techniques. With these methods, the research team aims to create new materials for low-energy electronics for quantum computing. Furthermore, this CAREER project will strengthen the national high-tech workforce by training students in materials research. The principal investigator will host annual workshops for university students and lead outreach activities for elementary and middle school students. These efforts will train and inspire a new generation of American scientists and engineers in the U.S. technological sector. Technical description: The principal investigator will pioneer synthesis and characterization techniques to understand the effects of order and disorder on functional and quantum materials, focusing on hexagonal oxides. Depending on composition, their behavior ranges from ferroelectric to non-polar, or from magnetically ordered to hosting quantum spin liquids. Despite significant interest in this family of materials, control over polar order and disorder and its relationship to ferroelectric properties is not yet fully understood. This project will approach the issue along two avenues. First, researchers will control symmetry and symmetry-breaking in polar ordering of hexagonal ABO3 oxides using atomically precise molecular beam epitaxy growth, stabilizing novel functionalities and emergent phenomena. Secondly, researchers will advance scanning transmission electron microscopy methods to gain a full three-dimensional understanding of the local atomic structure using scanning electron diffraction techniques including tomography, cepstral analysis, and ptychography. This research will employ tight feedback between synthesis and characterization to accelerate novel materials for relaxor ferroelectrics for energy storage and low-power, next-generation quantum information technologies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2543749 | Program: 01002829DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT,01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Megan Holtz | Institution: Colorado School of Mines, GOLDEN, CO | Award Amount: $552,469 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2543749 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2543749.html