Research Goals

The goal of the multidisciplinary research initiative (MURI) "Emergent Phenomena at Mott Interfaces" is to establish fundamentally new approaches to predict, understand and control the wealth of electronic, spin and collective mode excitations associated with Mott metal-insulator transitions at complex oxide interfaces.  Interfaces between thin Mott materials and conventional band insulators will be synthesized using oxide molecular beam epitaxy.  A major objective of the program is the synthesis of oxide layers with exceptionally low intrinsic defect concentrations.  Approaches will be developed to engineer the Mott material at the interface to be as close as possible to the electron correlation induced metal-insulator transition.  Sophisticated theoretical approaches and unique interface-specific electron and x-ray spectroscopies will develop an understanding of interface-controlled changes in local orbital occupations that drive the interface Mott transition.  Field effect will charge or discharge the Mott layer to fine-tune the electron/hole density at the interface. Electrical transport, optical conductivity and magnetization will be explored, documented and modeled as the Mott layer and heterointerface materials are tuned and the electron/hole chemical potential is varied.  Electric field control of the strongly-correlated interface metal-insulator transition will be assessed for future electronic, spintronic and photonic applications.

The MURI is supported by the Army Research Office under Award. No. W911-NF-09-1-0398