MateriAlZ Seminar Series: Geoff Brennecka
Friday, September 10, 2021, 11:00 am MST
Geoff Brennecka, Associate Professor
Colorado School of Mines
"Nitride Ferroelectrics: A New Materials Playground"
Zoom link
Passcode: 582943
MateriAlZ Seminar website | YouTube | Twitter
Abstract: In the 100 years since the first report of ferroelectricity, roughly 1000 different compounds—the vast majority of which are oxides—have been identified as ferroelectric, but the commercial application space is completely dominated by variations on 4 classics: BaTiO3, PZT, LiNbO3/LiTaO3, and PVDF. There is currently a worldwide race to capitalize on recently developed ferroelectrics based on fluorite HfO2 and wurtzite AlN thin films, neither of which was thought capable of supporting ferroelectricity only a decade ago. This talk will focus on (Al,Sc)N, the first reported ferroelectric nitride, and LaWN3, the first reported pure nitride perovskite. (Al,Sc)N represents a new mechanism for enabling polarization reversal, while LaWN3 opens the possibility of extending decades of structure and domain engineering in oxide perovskites to new chemistry. This presentation will discuss the recent discovery, ongoing development, and imminent deployment of these contemporary additions to the ferroelectric family, with one eye on what we can learn about the fundamental physics at work and the other on looming integration and performance challenges.
Bio: Geoff Brennecka is an associate professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, where he directs the Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics (CCAC) and co-directs the Alliance for the Development of Additive Processing Technologies (ADAPT). Geoff received BS and MS degrees in Ceramic Engineering from Missouri S&T and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois. He spent 8 years as staff at Sandia National Laboratories before joining Mines. Geoff’s awards include the Mines Faculty Excellence Award, NSF CAREER, Du Co Ceramics Young Professional Award, and the IEEE Ferroelectrics Young Investigator Award. Geoff is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and has served on the Board of Directors of ACerS the Ceramics and Glass Industry Foundation (CGIF), and the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society. He is currently the President of Keramos and serves as an Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society.