MF's web

... functional materials theory

Research interests

	Piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials Electronic and vibrational properties of complex oxides such as PZT and PBN. Design of novel compositions and search for Pb-free materials. Recent work has pointed to the interplay of the cations in PT as the origin of the tetragonal phase. Ferroelectric materials with the tungsten-bronze structure have been also investigated.

Thermoelectric materials "Phonon glass -- electron crystal" bulk thermoelectrics similar to skutterudites are under investigation to explore paths to optimize the electronic and thermal properties. Our main goal is to play with the chemical composition and alloying to increase ZT in technological temperature windows for refrigeration and energy conversion. Recently, we have studied the TE properties of layered oxides.

	Amorphous semiconductors We focused on a-Si and a-Si:H that have significance for solar energy conversion. We both focused on the electronic structure of defects (especially floating bonds) and on the description of realistic amorphous structure.
Phenomenological models Our goal is to provide simple and physically transparent models that can guide the search for novel compositions. We are both exploring phenomenological description of electronic transport as well as methods to treat vibrational properties.

		Bio-inorganic materials We study apatitic materials in order to understand the effect of carbonation in Fluor-apatite and similar systems. Our goal is to math and guide the experimental research by computing quantities that are directly measurable.