We investigate oxide films grown by pulsed laser deposition including perovskites, spinels, garnets and nanocomposites consisting of two different phases that form a self-assembled epitaxial structure. We are interested in their ferroelectric and magnetic properties and magnetoelectric coupling, and how these depend on the occupancy of ions on crystal sites, strain, and microstructure.
Iron garnets are ferrimagnetic insulators whose magnetic properties depend on composition and strain state. We grow iron garnet films using pulsed laser deposition, and investigate their magnetic and magnetooptical properties, magnetization dynamics, and the behavior of garnet multilayers and heterostructures. We explore spin orbit torque effects, domain wall behavior, and integration on silicon. We develop domain wall devices for data storage and magnetooptical devices for photonic integrated circuits.
Block copolymer films self-assemble into nanoscale structures that are useful for fabrication and lithography. We explore microphase separation in polymer architectures including multiblock and brush copolymers. We develop methods to control the position and shape of the nm-scale microdomains via substrate templates and annealing processes, and techniques for converting the block copolymer pattern into functional materials.