Layered chalcogenide multiferroics for quantum technology applications

Nasim Alem, Pennsylvania State University (Principal Investigator)

Zhiqiang Mao, Pennsylvania State University (Co-Investigator)

Weiwei Xie, Michigan State University (Co-Investigator)

As devices continue to reduce in size, there is a need for the discovery of novel layered materials that maintain their ferroelectric properties when going down to atomically thin layers. While some of the well-known bulk ferroelectrics have failed to serve this purpose, layered multiferroics are considered as the promising candidates to host ferroelectricity in two-dimensional layers and to serve as platforms for layered multiferroics. This proposed research aims to discover multiferroicity in layered materials and understand its mechanism through combined rational design, exploratory synthesis, advanced characterization efforts at the nano and macroscale regime, and various electronic and magnetic property measurements. The emphasis of the proposed work is to find new layered materials possessing magnetic properties and strong magnetoelectric coupling.  Through this study, we will synthesize novel layered materials possessing magnetoelectric coupling, and will characterize their atomic structure and properties using advanced imaging and spectroscopy techniques. The findings from this study not only provides the fundamental knowledge to uncover the underlying mechanism for the multiferroic behavior of layered materials, but also can lead to the discovery of a larger family of multiferroic suitable for memory, optoelectronic, spintronics and other quantum technology applications.