Comments on: Nanotechnology engineers atomic layer interfaces to produce new electronic materials http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2726 examining transformative technology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:23:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: MD http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2726#comment-566363 MD Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:36:00 +0000 http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2726#comment-566363 This is just one example of the new kinds of behavior currently being discovered at interfaces in transition metal oxides, many of which are under strong investigation for use in future electronic devices. The comparison between this field of investigation and the development of the semiconductor industry was actually made previously at the end of last year by Science magazine in their "Breakthroughs of the year" http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5858/1844a#ru5 . The key here is that "interface engineering" provides an approach to developing materials with new properties that are markedly different from those of naturally occurring materials. These new materials could lead to new or improved devices that could replace current semiconductor based technology. In the present case the production of "improper ferroelectricity" by the construction of artificial interfaces provides a path to ferroelectricity in materials where it does not normally occur, which is appealing given the strong research effort currently being focused on multiferroic materials as the basis of a new type of computer memory. This is just one example of the new kinds of behavior currently being discovered at interfaces in transition metal oxides, many of which are under strong investigation for use in future electronic devices. The comparison between this field of investigation and the development of the semiconductor industry was actually made previously at the end of last year by Science magazine in their “Breakthroughs of the year”

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5858/1844a#ru5 .

The key here is that “interface engineering” provides an approach to developing materials with new properties that are markedly different from those of naturally occurring materials. These new materials could lead to new or improved devices that could replace current semiconductor based technology. In the present case the production of “improper ferroelectricity” by the construction of artificial interfaces provides a path to ferroelectricity in materials where it does not normally occur, which is appealing given the strong research effort currently being focused on multiferroic materials as the basis of a new type of computer memory.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2726#comment-565651 Anonymous Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:57:12 +0000 http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2726#comment-565651 How is this comparable to the development of modern electronics? I don't understand what the potential benefits are. How is this comparable to the development of modern electronics? I don’t understand what the potential benefits are.

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