Defect-induced effects in low-dimensional and novel materials

Following the success of the six previous similar symposia held since 2012, this edition addresses the progress in tailoring properties of low-dimensional and other novel materials by introducing defects and impurities. Native, technological and radiation defects will be considered theoretically and experimentally.

Scope:

A solid without defects is a utopia. However, what appeared to be a utopia 50 years ago as well – artificial two-, one- and zero-dimensional solids – is now at the centre of practical technology. And these materials are also necessarily imperfect. They contain defects introduced during the synthesis or posterior modification by thermal or radiation treatment or maybe during exploitation. The variety of such materials and respective devices is quite impressive.

Due to the wide applications of nanotechnology it is necessary to invest efforts in studying the formation and evolution of defects at the nanoscale. The high sensitivity of modern technologies on the submicron scale has promoted the exciting opportunity of developing new advanced materials with reduced dimensionality. This opens new prospects for ion and electron beam applications. Ion tracks and other radiation-induced effects provide a means for controlled synthesis and modification of low-dimensional materials, such as nanoclusters and nanowires, allowing for efficient nano- and optoelectronic devices. Defect behaviour in nanomaterials and nanostructures in its turn has often been found to differ substantially from that observed in bulk materials. Recent work has demonstrated spectacular optical and magnetic effects due to deliberately created defects or radiation-induced transformation of nanomaterials as well as radiation-induced displacements in low-dimensional insulators and semiconductors, with numerous potential applications. We plan to discuss how such defects could be introduced controllably, categorized and controlled in nanostructures. Understanding and controlling defect properties and capturing the grain boundary effects in a wide class of advanced nanostructures (novel 2D materials, multiferroics, quantum dots and wires, etc.) could well be a key to breakthroughs in several crucial areas of science and technology. This is the main focus of the symposium.

Hot topics to be covered:

• Multiscale computer modelling of defect creation and transformation
• Defects in perovskites, topological insulators, organic semiconductors and other novel materials
• Defects in nanosized materials and heterostructures; the role of interfaces, nonstoichiometry
• Defects in nanodevices
• Novel experimental techniques in defect research and visualisation
• Role of defects in resistive switching phenomena
• Synchrotron and neutron techniques for materials characterization
• Quantum computing with defects
• Novel technological processes of micro-, nano- and optoelectronics using defects and radiation effects