Subatomic microscopy key to building new classes of materials
Thursday, September 1, 2016 - 05:01
in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers are pushing the limits of electron microscopy into the tens of picometer scale, a fraction of the size of a hydrogen atom. The ability to see at this subatomic level is crucial for designing new materials with unprecedented properties, such as materials that transition from metals to semiconductors or that exhibit superconductivity. The researchers' work describes the first atomic scale evidence for strain-induced ferroelectricity in a layered oxide.