About the project
Due to the fast growing need for more efficient technologies and devices, the performance requirements for materials are becoming increasingly tougher. Research in this area is focusing on complex materials -the so called "strongly correlated electron systems"- where the electrons couple with each other affecting the conducting and magnetic properties. This high degree of electronic correlations gives rise to a broad range of novel and technological exploitable phenomena such as colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) where enormous variation in resistance are produced by small magnetic field changes and high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) where the electrons can travel freely within the material with zero resistance. The observation of these phenomena has dramatically challenged our understanding of solids. It follows that the design and experimental characterization of novel families of strongly electron correlated systems are absolutely essential to guide theory, to understand the important ingredients for the observation of interesting properties and discover new phenomenology.
The aim of the project is to undertake a systematic exploration with the goal of uncovering novel and/or rare behaviours through the synthesis and detailed physical characterization of selected families of transition metal fluorides. At the end of this study we would have achieved a systematic understanding of the role played by the strong electronic correlations in a rich family of fluoride systems. The fine tuning of the interplay of the many available degrees of freedom in these systems should hold unforeseen surprises and observation of unprecedented phenomena.
Objectives
Primary objective:
The overall aim of the proposal is to finely tune the interplay among the lattice, spin and charge degrees of freedom in orbitally active transition metal fluorides to generate novel electronic and magnetic states of solids.
Secondary Objectives:
- Establish a new class of non-oxide strongly correlated electron systems.
- Develop new methodologies for the synthesis of Cr2+ and Ag2+ fluoride phases as potential analogues of the oxides.
- Use a rich variety of techniques to elucidate the structural, magnetic and electronic phase diagrams of this new class of complex solids and determine their performance limits.
Financing
The project is financed by the Norwegian Research Council.