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Welcome to Ceramics Laboratory
Research and education at our laboratory are centered on science and technology of functional ceramics. We focus on piezoelectrics and ferroelectrics, polar materials, paraelectrics, high-K dielectrics, ferromagnetics, and ferroelastics. We are interested in fundamental mechanisms, theory and modeling, processing and fabrication of thin films and bulk ceramics, structural and functional properties, device design, fabrication and testing of functional ceramics.
We identify and aim to clarify fundamental questions that are potential drivers of novel electroceramic-technology and its applications in areas relevant to society needs. In another major direction we demonstrate / aim to demonstrate concepts for new applications of electroceramics in fields such as information and communication technologies, medical instrumentation and industrial process monitoring.
Distinctions |
News |
Paul Muralt awardedPaul Muralt is the 2016 C. B. Sayer Memorial Awardee of the UFFC Frequency Control Society. Work of Igor Stolichnov highlightedThe paper Bent Ferroelectric Domain Walls as Reconfigurable Metallic-Like Channels has been highlighted in the journals Nature Reviews. Konstantin Shapovalov and Sina Hashemi Zadeh AwardedKonstantin Shapovalov and Sina Hashemi Zadeh won the two Best Poster Awards at Ferroelectrics Workshop (Leysin 2015). Paul Muralt - Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEEPaul Muralt was nominated The Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society for 2016-17. Work of Jin Wang highlightedThe paper Negative-pressure induced enhancements in a freestanding ferroelectric has been highlighted in the journals Physics Today and Science. Bo Jiang awardedBo Jiang received the 2015 ABB Award for his thesis “Ceramics based technologies for high-temperature micro-reactors”. Leo McGilly awardedLeo McGilly won the "Best young researcher presenter" award at the TOPO International Workshop for his presentation on "Velocity control of domain walls by top electrode modification in ferroelectric thin film capacitors". Anand Chandrasekaran awardedAnand Chandrasekaran won the Best Poster Award in the CSF Conference for his poster "Defect ordering and defect-domain wall interactions in PbTiO3 : A first-principles study". Petr Bednyakov AwardedPetr won the Domain-Wall Workshop (Leysin 2014) Best Oral Presentation Award for his talk on "Controlled formation of charged feroelectric domain walls". Mahamudu Mtebwa AwardedMahamudu won the Domain-Wall Workshop (Leysin 2014) Best Poster Award for his presentation on "Induced Self Ordering of Domain Patterns in Epitaxial Rhombohedral PZT thin Films". Leo McGilly AwardedLeo McGilly won the ECAPD 2014 Young Scientist Award for his oral presentation "Controlling ferroelectric domain wall motion". Mahamudu Mtebwa AwardedMahamudu Mtebwa won the ECAPD 2014 Young Scientist Award for his poster presentation on "PLD growth and domain patterns of highly tetragonal epitaxial PZT (110) thin films". The work of Alexander Tagantsev and Petr Yudin highlightedThe paper "Influence of flexoelectric coupling on domain patterns in ferroelectrics" is highlighted by the PRB editors.Robert B. Sosman Award LectureNava Setter delivered the 2013 Robert B. Sosman Award Lecture of the American Ceramics Society. Anand Chandrasekaran awardedAnand Chandrasekaran won the Best Poster Award of the EDMX Research Day for his poster "Defects and domain walls in doped PZT".
Nava Setter awardedNava Setter received the "AVS Recognition for Excellence in Leadership" from the AVS Society and the 2013 "FMA International Award" of the FMA Meetings. Paul Muralt - Fellow of IEEEPaul Muralt was elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow with the citation: "for contributions to piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems". Best Paper AwardThe paper "Origins of Electro-Mechanical Coupling in Polycrystalline Ferroelectrics During Subcoercive Electrical Loading" co-authored by Dragan Damjanovic was given the 2012 Edward C. Henry Best Paper Award by the American Ceramic Society. Petr Yudin awardedPetr Yudin received the "best oral presentation award" in the IFDS'2012 for his talk "Elastic effects and structural changes in 180-degree ferroelectric domain walls". Jin Wang awardedJin Wang is the awardee of the 2012 Prof. René Wasserman Prize for his thesis "Ferroelectric Nanowires: An Investigation in Synthesis, Characterization, Functionality, and Modeling of Finite Size Effects". The citation reads "For a wide scope and original research on the synthesis and characterization of piezoelectric nano-wires of the perovskite family and the theoretical and experimental study of their functionality". Nava Setter awardedNava Setter is the 2011 Buessem Award Recipient. The award is given annually by the US Center for Dielectric Studies to a member of the dielectrics community with a lifetime of achievement in the field. Evgeny Mikheev awardedEvgeny Mikheev received the Award for the 2011 Best Master Project of the EPFL Materials Science and Engineering Program for his project "Magnetotransport in Ultrathin (Ga,Mn)As Channels Controlled by a Ferroelectric Gate". Congratulations to Evgeny MilyutinCongratulations to Evgeny Milyutin for receiving a 2011 EPFL INNOGRANT aiming to support him in developing his company AZBOOKA which will provide online assistance of maths for school kids. Nava Setter awardedNava Setter won the 2011 'IEEE-UFFC' Achievement Award, which is the highest distinction of the Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society. Maxim Gureev awardedMaxim Gureev is one of the two winners of the best presentation award in the 2nd TokyoTech - EDMX Workshop on Materials that has been held in Chateau d'Oex 13-16.3.2011. Ceramics Laboratory awarded ERC Advanced GrantThe ERC Advanced Grant was given for the project "Exploring Mobile Interfaces: Domain Walls as Functional Elements". Dragan Damjanovic - Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEEDragan Damjanovic serves this year as The Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society. His lecture is entitled "Piezoelectric materials - microscopic mechanisms, novel compositions and advanced applications". A paper of Igor Stolichnov highlightedA paper of Igor Stolichnov et al "Enhanced Curie temperature and nonvolatile switching of ferromagnetism in ultrathin (Ga,Mn)As channels", is highlighted as Editor Suggestion in PRB Journal. Li Jin awardedLi Jin is one of the winners of the 2010 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad.
Eugene Mikheev awardedEugene Mikheev is one of the winers of the 'best poster awards' in the International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics (ISAF-2010) for his poster on "Polarization screening in multiferroic (Ga,Mn)As/P(VDF-TrFE) transistors". Jin Wang awardedJin Wang is one of the winers of the 'best poster awards' in the International Conference on Ceramic Processing Science on (ICCPS-11) for his poster on "Monocrystalline PbZrxTi1-xO3 nanowires: fabrication and properties". The work of Dragan Damjanovic highlightedThe work of Dragan Damjanovic "A morphotropic phase boundary system based on polarization rotation and polarization extension" is featured as a research highlight at the main web-site of Applied Physics Letters. Jin Wang awardedJin Wang is one of the winners of the 2009 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad. |
Thin-film-specific elastic effects in ferroelectric domain structuresKonstantin Shapovalov successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Experimental and first-principles study of point defects, domain walls, and their interactions in ferroelectricsAnand Chandrasekaran successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Velocity Control of 180° Domain Walls in Ferroelectric FilmsLeo McGilly et al. showed velocity control of 180°domain walls by electrode modification. Towards room-temperature deterministic ferroelectric control of ferromagnetic thin filmsZhen Huang successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Bent Ferroelectric Domain Walls as Reconfigurable Metallic-Like ChannelsIgor Stolichnov et al demonstrated and explained metallic conduction in nominally uncharged, bent, rewritable ferroelectric domain-walls in PZT. Negative-pressure induced enhancements in a freestanding ferroelectricJin Wang et al realized negative pressure on ferroelectric nano wires resulting in a strong enhancement in Curie temperature and spontaneous polarization. Reconfigurable doping in a ferroelectric wide-bandgap semiconductorArnaud Crassous et al. showed creation and nanoscale manipulation of charged walls in ferroelectric films and their action as real-time dopant activators. Monocrystalline PZT thin films: Towards controlled growth and controlled domain patternsMahamudu Mtebwa successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Controlling domain wall motion in ferroelectric thin filmsLeo McGilly et al. shows the controlled propagation of domain walls in ferroelectric films. In search of ferroelectricity in antiferroelectric lead zirconateKaushik Vaideeswaran successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Breaking of macroscopic centric symmetry in paraelectric phases of ferroelectric materials and implications for flexoelectricityAlberto Biancoli et al. show that the large electro-mechanical response seen in paraelectric phases of ferroelectric perovskites can be induced by macroscopic symmetry breaking due to high-temperature processing. DOI: 10.1038/NMAT4139 Elastic Coupling between Nonferroelastic Domain WallsKonstantin Shapovalov et al. revealed, in ferroelectric thin films, a strong elastic interaction between nonferroelastic domain walls that are apart at distances comparable to the film thickness. PRL 113, 207601 (2014). Advanced sol-gel processing of PZT thin films for piezoelectric MEMS structuresNachiappan Chidamba- ram successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Breaking of the macroscopic centric symmetry in Ba1-xSrxTiO3 ceramics and single crystalsAlberto Biancoli successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. PZT thin films for MEMS devices: From in-situ sputter deposition to energy harvesting device.Andrea Mazzalai successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Controlled stripes of ultra fine ferroelectric domainsLudwig Feigl et al. demonstrate in theory and practice controlled stripes of ≈10 nm wide domains that extend in one direction along tens of micrometres. High-order electromechanical couplings in ferroelectricsAlexander Kvasov successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Dragan Damjanovic - VP FerroelectricsDragan Damjanovic was appointed Vice President for Ferroelectrics at the UFFC-IEEE Society. Growth and properties of AlScN thin films for microwave transducers and piezoelectric energy harvestingRamin Matloub successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Ferroelectric translational antiphase boundaries in nonpolar materialsXiankui Wei et al. showed ferroelectricity in translational anti phase boundaries of the non-polar antiferroelectric PbZrO3. Book: Tuneable Film Bulk Acoustic Wave ResonatorsThe book "Tuneable Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators" by S. Gevorgian, A. Tagantsev, and A. Vorobiev appeared in print (Springer). The origin of antiferroelectricity in PbZrO3Alexander Tagantsev et al showed that the antiferroelectric PbZrO3 is a missed incommensurate phase and its appearance is driven by flexoelectric coupling. Free-electron gas at charged domain walls in insulating BaTiO3Tomas Sluka et al. showed metallic, quasi-2DEG conductivity in charged domain walls of the classical ferroelectric insulator BaTiO3. Domain wall conduction in bismuth ferrite thin filmsMonika Iwanowska successfully defended her thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. MER Igor StolichnovIgor Stolichnov was awarded the title of EPFL senior scientist (MER - Maître d'enseignement et de recherché). Material Study of Micromachined Thin Film Solid Oxide Fuel CellsYan Yan successfully defended her thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Enhanced Electromechanical Response of Ferroelectrics Due to Charged Domain WallsTomas Sluka et al. demonstrated a new mechanism leading to a strong enhancement of piezoelectric properties. It clarifies the so-far unexplained effect of high domain-wall density on macroscopic properties of domain-engineered ferroelectrics. Macroscopic Theory of Charged Domain Walls in FerroelectricsMaxim Gureev successfully defended his thesis and was awarded the grade of PhD. Cold-Field Switching in PVDF-TrFE Ferroelectric Polymer NanomesasA study of Igor Stolichnov et al. on ferroelectric nanomesas of PVDF suggests that there is no fundamental bar for lowering the coercive field in ferroelectric polymer nanostructures (of importance in micro- nanoelectronics). 2nd International Workshop on Piezoelectric MEMSThe workshop, chaired by Paul Muralt will be held on September 6-7 at the EPFL (Hall CM3). http://www.piezomems2011.org/index.html Book: Domains in Ferroic Crystals and Thin FilmsThe book "Domains in Ferroic Crystals and Thin Films" by Alexander Tagantsev, Eric L Cross, and Jan Fousek appeared in print (Springer). |
LC Seminars
28.8.2015 (Friday, 09:30, MXG110) Prof. Andrew Rappe (University of Pennsylvania), Ferroelectrics from first principles (selected topics)
4.9.2015 (Friday, 10:30, MXG110) Prof. Manfred Fiebig (ETHZ), Monitoring the manipulation of multiferroic domains by nonlinear optics
9.9.2015 (Wednesday, 16:15, MXG312) Dr. Nick Barret (CEA-Saclay), Full field electron spectromicroscopy of ferroelectric materials
18.9.2015 (Friday, 08:45, MXG110) Prof. Kyle Brinkman (Clemson University), Crystalline Ceramics for Nuclear Waste Immobilization and Membrane Separations
13.10.2015 (Tuesday, 16:15, ELE111) Dr. Yohachi (John) Yamashita (Toyama Prefectural University), Can we find promising piezoelectric materials and applications after 2020?
16.10.2015 (Friday, 08:45, MXG110) Robin Nigon, Influence of Asymmetric Electrodes on the Switching of PZT Thin Films
13.11.2015 (Friday, 08:45, MXG110) Anand Chandrasekaran, Atomistic structure of domain walls and their interaction with defects
27.11.2015 (Friday, 08:45, MXG110) Konstantin Shapovalov, Mechanically incompatible ferroelastic domain walls in thin films
9.12.2015 (Wednesday, 11:00, MXG312) Prof. Tomoaki Yamada, (University of Nagoya), One-dimensional Ferroelectric Nanostructure: Attempt at the Self-assembled Growth and Manipulation of the Domain Structure
13-15.12.2015 (Sunday-Tuesday) Leysin Workshop