Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: Oxide Thin Films, Probes and Surfaces

马里兰州大学的材料研究科学与工程中心（MRSEC）致力于解决与铁电体和表面纳米结构的动力学以及与高自旋极化磁性氧化物的性质有关的基本问题。 MRSEC支持有效的大学前教育推广工作，包括为中学女生提供暑期科学课程，以及动手数学和科学学生课程。 该中心有密集的知识转移到大量的工业和联邦实验室的活动。 MRSEC还通过种子资金支持有前途的新项目，并开发和维护共享实验设施。该中心的研究分为三个跨学科研究小组（IRG）。 IRG 1，铁电薄膜中的极化动力学，解决了关键材料问题，这些问题将允许控制和优化薄膜铁电体的时间依赖行为，并且目前限制了它们在计算机存储器，传感器和致动器中的应用。 IRG 2，表面纳米结构：从波动到驱动系统，建立在强大的实验和理论工具，由这组研究人员开发，预测薄膜的表面结构演变在各种加工条件下，包括化学气相沉积生长和电迁移。 IRG 3，高自旋极化的金属氧化物，专注于限制具有高自旋极化的金属氧化物发展的问题，这些金属氧化物可用于磁性器件，包括“自旋电子学”和磁性传感器。 中心参与者包括23名高级研究员，8名博士后，20名研究生，10名本科生和2名支持人员。 艾伦·D教授威廉姆斯指挥MRSEC。

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Maryland addresses fundamental problems connected with the dynamics of ferroelectrics and of surface nanostructures, and with the properties of highly spin polarized magnetic oxides. The MRSEC supports an effective pre-college education outreach effort that includes summer science programs for middle school girls and hands-on math and science student programs. The Center has intensive activities for knowledge transfer to a large number of industrial and federal laboratories. The MRSEC also supports promising new projects through seed funding, and develops and maintains shared experimental facilities. Research in the proposed Center is organized into three Interdisciplinary research Groups (IRG). IRG 1, Polarization Dynamics in Ferroelectric Thin Films, addresses key materials issues that will allow to control and optimize the time-dependent behavior of thin film ferroelectrics, and that currently limit their applicability to computer memories, sensors and actuators. IRG 2, Surface Nanostructures: From Fluctuations to Driven Systems, builds upon powerful experimental and theoretical tools developed by this group of investigators to predict the surface structural evolution of films under various processing conditions, including chemical vapor deposition growth and electromigration. IRG 3, Metal Oxides with High Spin Polarization, focuses on issues limiting development of metallic oxides with high spin polarization that can be utilized in magnetic devices, including 'spintronics' and magnetic sensors. Center participants include 23 senior investigators, 8 post-doctoral associates, 20 graduate students, 10 undergraduates and 2 support personnel. Professor Ellen D. Williams directs the MRSEC.