Involved People: A.G. Monteduro, S. Rizzato, A. Leo, G.Maruccio
Collaborations: Prof. D.D.Sarma (Bangalore), Prof. M. Martino, Prof. A. P. Caricato, Dr. V. Tasco and Dr. A. Passaseo (Lecce)
General description: The remarkable miniaturization trend in electronics has been so far achieved through a continuous scaling down of metal-oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors but nowadays it is threatened by physical and technological limitations at the nanoscale. To further increase device performance, innovations on materials and architectures are required. In this frame, our research is focused on complex functional oxides such as (i) high-k materials for gate stack technology in logic and memory devices and (ii) multiferroic materials for implementing novel operational concepts in spintronics exploting magnetoelectric coupling.
Scientific Strategies/Facilities: Concerning high-k materials, Y2CuTiO6 and rare-earth copper titanates are investigated in collaboration with Prof. D.D. Sarma group at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and Prof. M. Martino group at University of Salento. This activity is mainly focused on the structural, morphological and dielectrical characterization of thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition. Concerning multiferroic materials, our activity spans from the synthesis of bulk BiFeO3 up to the structural, morphological, dielectric and ferroelectric characterizations of both its bulk and thin film forms. These research activities are made possible by the use of AFM and XRD as well as PFM, KPFM, Dielectric and Ferroelectric (PUND) measurements and superconducting magnets.
