May 8 - 13, 2022
Honolulu, Hawaii
May 23 - 25, 2022 (Virtual)
2022 MRS Spring Meeting

Symposium QT03—Higher-Order Topological Structures—From Charge to Spin

Topologically non-trivial real space structures in ferroelectrics, such as polar skyrmions, domain walls and dislocations, are rich sources for emergent functional phenomena, enabling local control of electronic and ionic transport properties, light-matter interactions, propagation of phonons and more. There is a strong cross-disciplinary dimension connecting the research to the magnetism community and it is now clear that higher-order topological charge and spin textures open up a plethora of possible future dynamic nanoelectronic, spintronic and quantum devices. The beauty and connections of the unifying scientific concepts in materials with electric and / or magnetic order are mutually beneficial and have become a strong motivation for interdisciplinary activities, propelled by the recent developments in theory, synthesis and characterisation. This symposium aims to bring together scientific experts and young scientists with an interest in topologically non-trivial charge and spin textures that arise in real space, fostering interactions and advancing knowledge of higher-order topological structures in ferroelectrics, multiferroics and magnetic materials.

Topics will include:

  • Skyrmions and chiral textures, higher-order topological structures
  • Domains and domain walls, dislocations and disclinations
  • Vortex, anti-vortex, and vertex structures
  • Nanoelectronics using topological defects
  • Interactions with extrinsic and intrinsic defects
  • Emergent functional properties
  • Materials (bulk crystals, thin films, superlattices, 2D systems)
  • Controlled formation and movement of topological structures
  • Atomic-scale charge, spin and phonon characterization
  • Three-dimensional characterisation and reconstruction of topologies
  • In-situ/operando characterization of dynamic processes via electron and local probe microscopy
  • Time-resolved and ultrafast measurements
  • Theoretical simulation and modeling of mechanically, electrically and magnetically driven processes

Invited Speakers:

  • Salia Cherifi-Hertel (National Center for Scientific Research and Strasbourg University, France)
  • Miaofang Chi (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA)
  • Claire Donnelly (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
  • Jirka Hlinka (The Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic)
  • Jorge Íñiguez (Luxembourg Institute of Science & Technology, Luxembourg)
  • Demie Kepaptsoglou (SuperSTEM, United Kingdom)
  • Yousra Nahas (University of Arkansas, USA)
  • Christian Pfleiderer (Technical University of Munich, Germany)
  • Shinichiro Seki (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
  • Haidan Wen (Argonne National Laboratory, USA)
  • Pavlo Zubko (University College London, United Kingdom)

Symposium Organizers

Michele Conroy
Imperial College London
Materials
United Kingdom

Sinead Griffin
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Molecular Foundry
USA

Dennis Meier
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Norway

Ramamoorthy Ramesh
University of California, Berkeley
Department of Physics and Materials
USA

Topics

electronic structure electron-phonon interactions ferroelectric ferroelectricity ferromagnetic modeling perovskites quantum effects simulation