Novel Phenomena at the Oxide Interface
Abstract
It has been known for several years that a metallic state can exist at the interface between insulating transition metal oxides. The best known example is the interface between SrTiO3 and LaAlO3. It was then discovered that the metal becomes superconducting below 0.3K. In the past year a number of groups have reported signs of ferromagnetism in this system. The speaker will review the physics of the interface and propose a mechanism for the existence of ferromagnetism and how superconductivity can co-exist with it.
About the speaker
Prof. Patrick Lee joined the MIT Department of Physics in 1982 after approximately ten years with the Theoretical Physics Department at Bell Laboratories. He has made key contributions to the theory of disordered electronic systems and is a pioneer in “mesoscopic physics,” the study of small devices at low temperatures. Prof Lee introduced the concept of universal conductance fluctuations to describe such devices. For this and other contributions to condensed matter physics, he was awarded the 2005 Dirac Medal of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and the Oliver Buckley Prize of the American Physical Society. Prof. Lee was elected Member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 1991. His current research interests focus on high temperature superconductors.
