Synthesis and Characterization of Technological Materials
Our research currently focuses on the following families of technological materials: (i) multiferroic oxides based on the improper ferroelectricity mechanism and mesocrystalline spinel oxides; and (ii) molecular materials exhibiting magnetic behavior and/or magneto-optic properties. The goal is to obtain functional materials for information storage devices with low-power consumption at room temperature and efficient quantum devices at the molecular scale. The atomic (and orbital) selectivity provided by synchrotron radiation spectroscopic techniques is essential to determine the atomic (and molecular) structure in correlation with the electronic (and magnetic) properties of these materials.
Development of multifunctional nanostructures
In this research line we aim at developing nanomaterials useful in spintronics and quantum information technologies by growing: (i) thin films that combine layers of oxides with high spin-orbit coupling and ferromagnetic and/or metallic layers, and (ii) multifunctional low-dimensional architectures with atomically defined morphology including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional molecular nanostructures. Here, we will exploit the very high brightness of synchrotron radiation to study the small amounts of sample in the characterization of these nanomaterials.
Scientific and technological innovation
