BACKGROUND:  For over a decade, scientists and engineers have known how to create inorganic ordered materials with nanoscale periodicities using organic templating materials. These methods can be used to create 3-D porous and nanoscale architectures which have high surface area to volume ratios and highly controllable porosity. This in turn, enables coupling different materials together to create hybrid structures with enhanced piezoelectric, magnetic, and multiferroic properties.

INNOVATION:  Researchers at UCLA have adapted a method of self-assembling inorganic silicates and organic templating precursors for manufacturing novel ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, and multiferroic ordered nanostructures. The resulting nanoporous structures and nanocomposites can be integrated into many modern IC and MEMS technologies, bringing better performance to piezoelectrics, microwave devices, spin-based logic devices, and magnetoelectric devices.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS 

• Piezoelectric nanoporous films:
  • Actuators
  • Sensors
  • Transducers
• Ferrimagnetic metal oxide nanostructured thin films:
  • Radar detection
  • Communication
  • Instrumentation
  • Wireless communications
• Hard ferromagnetic FePt nanoporous thin films:
  • High density magnetic storage and recording
• Multiferroic nanostructured thin films:
  • High-frequency filters
  • Oscillators
  • Phase shifters
  • Spintronic device applications

ADVANTAGES

• Piezoelectric nanoporous films:
  • Stress reduction
  • Reduction in constraining effects
• Ferrimagnetic metal oxide nanostructured thin films:
  • Much easier synthesis than competing methods
  • Easily tunable magnetic properties, and low dielectric losses and constants
  • Spin-based devices: materials possess low magnetic and dielectric losses
• Hard ferromagnetic FePt thin films:
  • High surface area
  • Easily tunable magnetic properties
• Multiferroic nanostructured thin films:
  • Higher surface area
  • Inexpensive self-assembly solution process

DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:  Films have been manufactured and characterized.

Reference: UCLA Case No. 2008-590