Welcome to the Garten Group! We investigate how to create new functionalities and enhance performance upon the combination of material properties. Specifically, we focus on the synthesis and characterization of ferroelectric thin films and multiferroic heterostructures. Some applications for our work lie in photovoltaic cells, memory, magnetoelectric sensors, high voltage varistors, cellulose energy harvesters, and more! See the Research or Publications sections for more details.
In ferroelectric materials, the structural and electrical responses can be changed by the application of an external electric field. Ferroelectrics are traditionally used in ultrasounds, sonar transducers, actuators, sensors, energy harvesters, adaptive optics, timing standards, radio frequency filters, accelerometers, capacitors, and memory.
Here, we are developing ferroelectric materials not only for these applications, but also to study how ferroelectricity can be used to enhance charge separation, polarization, and capture when used in or placed adjacent to photovoltaic, catalytic, or magnetic materials.
Our research areas include:
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- Ferroelectrics
- Multiferroics
- Piezoelectrics
- Flexoelectrics
- Magnetoelectrics
- Photoferroics
- Bulk photovoltaic effect
- Dielectrics in extreme environments
- Metastable materials synthesis
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