We are currently in an era dominated by silicon, a cornerstone of modern microelectronics that forms the foundation of much of our contemporary technological infrastructure. However, the fundamental limitations imposed by the atomic scale of silicon are bringing this technology closer to its ultimate boundaries. This challenge is particularly significant given the close relationship between silicon and magnetic materials in various technological applications. While silicon facilitates information processing, magnetic materials function as data storage media. However, magnetic technologies come with a major drawback: generating the required magnetic fields necessitates bulky components with high energy consumption. As a result, there is an urgent need to move beyond the silicon era and develop novel materials to avoid a potential energy bottleneck that could hinder technological progress.
In this context, materials that exhibit both magnetic and ferroelectric properties present a promising solution. These materials retain the advantages of magnetic materials while allowing for control via electric fields. Unlike magnetic fields, electric fields provide a more energy-efficient means of manipulation, as they can be employed in compact components with significantly lower energy demands. Multiferroic materials, which simultaneously exhibit ferroelectric and magnetic properties, have gained considerable interest due to their multifunctional capabilities. Their rapid development and diverse applications in materials science have underscored the growing need for a specialized research laboratory dedicated to advancing education and exploration in this field.
Our research group is actively engaged in investigating both single-phase and multiphase multiferroic materials. A particular focus of our work is the fabrication of bi-layer thin films with enhanced magnetoelectric properties, primarily influenced by structural strain. The synthesis of single-phase multiferroics presents a significant challenge, as the coexistence of ferromagnetism or ferrimagnetism with ferroelectricity in a single-phase material is exceptionally rare and highly complex. This difficulty has driven the development of composite multiferroic materials, which combine these functionalities more effectively. Our research aims to develop a new class of ferrite-ferroelectric composites with superior properties, contributing to a deeper understanding of this category of materials. These composites, synthesized in our laboratory, will exhibit multifunctional characteristics—functioning as integrated composite materials while also maintaining the independent properties of ferrites and ferroelectrics, both of which have substantial technological applications.
The Solid-State Research Laboratory will serve as a crucial hub for researchers interested in experimental solid-state physics, providing the necessary infrastructure to advance studies in this domain. Through our efforts, we seek to contribute meaningfully to the scientific community by expanding the fundamental understanding and practical applications of these innovative materials.
Physics