Materials engineering at the atomic scale: insights from advanced electron microscopy

Berit H. Goodge

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids

berit.goodge@cpfs.mpg.de

The rich properties of strongly correlated – or often so-called quantum – materials derive from complex interplay between atomic lattice, charge, spin, and orbital interactions. The scanning transmission electron microscope provides access to all of these order parameters down to the atomic scale across a range of sample geometries. Extending local and precise structural and electronic measurements to condensed matter systems therefore promises a powerful method to disentangle the effects of competing interactions, particularly at or near phases and phase boundaries which are characterized by nanoscale inhomogeneity or in carefully engineered atomic-scale heterostructures. Importantly, these techniques are largely materials-agnostic, and can be applied across a wide range of systems. Here I will highlight two novel material families -- superconducting nickelates [1-6] and intercalated quantum magnets [8-11] – and illustrate how quantitative atomic-scale insights can help guide bespoke materials design. At the same time, recent and ongoing advances in STEM instrumentation continue to increase the accessible phase space for advanced characterization, opening the door to extending these detailed investigations to low temperature and other in situ conditions.

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