120 researchers brought together in Luxembourg around the topic of oxide based electronics

On April 3-5 2017, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) hosted the Spring Meeting of the COST action "Towards oxide-based electronics" (TO-BE), in Luxembourg (LU).
The COST action aims at networking and bringing together researchers working in the field of the science and technology of transition-metal oxides. The programme gives the occasion to share expertise, define future strategies and cluster for future funding opportunities.
The 3-day, Luxembourg TO-BE Spring meeting was the 6th of the kind since the launch of the action in 2014, and gathered at the Neumünster Abbey about 120 participants from 23 different countries. The involvement of M. Guennou, LIST researcher at the Materials Research and Technology (MRT) department as a member of the Cost Action resulted in LIST taking on the role of local organiser.

Contemporary electronics is mostly based on semiconductor technology. Oxides, and transition metal oxides in particular, oppose in comparison a tougher challenge because of their complex chemistry, but they pay it back by their remarkable versatility. Superconductivity, ferroelectricity, tunability can be found in all sorts of oxides, which inspires innovative ideas for complex and multifunctional elements and devices. The fabrication of original oxide-based devices, and their integration into existing technologies constitute a whole avenue of research for a large community worldwide.

At LIST, oxide electronics is a very active field of research, mostly within the nanomaterials and nanotechnology Unit of the Materials Research and Technology (MRT) department. Under focus are notably transparent semiconductors, functional oxides with so-called ferroic properties, or insulator-to-metal transitions. Activities include, among others, several FNR-funded projects: on investigations of polar oxides for active elements in the THz regime, the development of caloric materials for cooling devices, or the use of ferroelectric oxides for photocatalysis.

This edition was supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and the European cooperation in Science and Technology (COST).

The next TO-BE meeting will take place in September 2017, in Riga (Latvia).