Summary
This programme, positioned at the intersection between condensed matter physics, chemistry, and materials science, aims at establishing a European network for groups working on different aspects of thin oxide films and oxide hybrids (combinations of films with different functionalities) with possible use in devices. Oxide materials show a rich spectrum of physical properties, encompassing e.g. ferroelectricity, dielectricity (with high permittivity), ferromagnetism, colossal magnetoresistance, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity. Thin films of these materials have high potential for device applications, as demonstrated already by the use of Bi-Sr-Ta-oxides in ferroelectric memory elements. A large number of other materials is under investigation to be employed in future devices, e.g. in electric field effect devices, superconducting Josephson junctions, in magnetic tunnel junctions, as exchange bias layer in GMR heads, or as magnetic or ferroelectric memory elements and tunable high-frequency devices. Equally interesting and innovative combinations are superconductors or ferromagnets with ferroelectrics (allowing a change in the doping level upon electric polarization reversal) or superconductors with ferromagnets (spin injection). More Information
Please go also to the THIOX website: go to website
Duration
Five years: June 2003 - June 2008
