3. Thin films and nanostructures of functional materials

Scope
Functional materials posses dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic, superconductor, semiconductor, etc. properties. Their integration in nowadays electronic/optoelectronic/sensor devices requires extreme miniaturization. Therefore they are used as thin films and/or nanostructures. Combination of mutifunctional materials in multilayers or composite nanostructures can lead to new functionalities. It results that engineering “multifunctional” materials is key factor for the advancement of science and technology.

Topics
The section will focus on multifunctional heterostructures, nanostructures, thin films and multilayers covering topics such as:

•  Deposition and processing methods of thin films and nanostructures
•  Correlation between structural quality and physical properties, with special emphasis on (multi)functional oxides and wide gap semiconductors
•  Size effects in ultra-thin films and nanostructures
•  Role of interfaces/surfaces in multifunctional thin films, heterostructures, multilayers and nanostructures
•  New functionalities obtained by combinations of functional materials in heterostructures and multilayers
•  Modelling superlattices, interfaces and nanostructures

This symposium intends to bring together scientists and engineers involved in various aspects of the synthesis, characterization, device integration and theoretical modeling of thin films and nanostructures with special emphasis on (multi)functional oxide materials and wide gap semiconductors.

Section Organizers
Joe Greene, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA,
Lucian Pintilie, National Institute of Materials Physics, Romania,
Felicia Iacomi, Faculty of Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania