Atomic Architecture: pushing the limits of high-resolution STEM for insight and innovation in quantum materials
Abstract:
The rich properties of strongly correlated – or often so-called quantum – materials derive from complex interplay between atomic lattice, charge, spin, and orbital interactions. The scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) provides access to all of these order parameters down to the atomic scale across a range of sample geometries. Extending local and precise structural and electronic measurements to condensed matter systems therefore promises a powerful method to disentangle the effects of competing interactions, particularly at or near phases and phase boundaries which are characterized by nanoscale inhomogeneity, in carefully engineered atomic-scale heterostructures, or in nascent materials families. Importantly, these techniques are largely materials-agnostic, and can be applied across a wide range of systems. Here I will illustrate how quantitative atomic-scale insights and advanced STEM techniques provide foundational insights and guide materials design in the two families of novel superconducting nickelates [1-6]. I will also highlight how recent and ongoing advances in STEM instrumentation continue to increase the accessible phase space for advanced characterization, opening the door to extending these detailed investigations to low temperature and other in situ conditions [7-9].
The rich properties of strongly correlated – or often so-called quantum – materials derive from complex interplay between atomic lattice, charge, spin, and orbital interactions. The scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) provides access to all of these order parameters down to the atomic scale across a range of sample geometries. Extending local and precise structural and electronic measurements to condensed matter systems therefore promises a powerful method to disentangle the effects of competing interactions, particularly at or near phases and phase boundaries which are characterized by nanoscale inhomogeneity, in carefully engineered atomic-scale heterostructures, or in nascent materials families. Importantly, these techniques are largely materials-agnostic, and can be applied across a wide range of systems. Here I will illustrate how quantitative atomic-scale insights and advanced STEM techniques provide foundational insights and guide materials design in the two families of novel superconducting nickelates [1-6]. I will also highlight how recent and ongoing advances in STEM instrumentation continue to increase the accessible phase space for advanced characterization, opening the door to extending these detailed investigations to low temperature and other in situ conditions [7-9].
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Dr. Duncan Alexander
Contact
- Prof. Oleg Yazyev, C3MP