Alumni Webinar Series

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Low-dimensional quantum spin systems realized in double hydroxide perovskites and natural minerals are of current interest due to their novel properties arising from interplay of quantum fluctuations and reduced dimensionality. In this talk, we will discuss in detail about quantum magnetism in CuSn(OH)6 shedding light on the crystal structure, magnetic structure, local order/disorder via low temperature neutron diffraction. We will also talk about the structure-magnetism interactions and understand the intrinsic interplay of electronic, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom arising from a complex balance of electron-electron correlations and spin-orbit coupling. At the end of the talk, participants will gain insights into the concepts of frustrated and orbital entangled magnetism through neutron spectroscopy.

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This study focuses on enhancing the magnetic properties of Bismuth Ferrite (BFO) based multiferroic thin films to meet the increasing energy demands in magnetic devices like writing head of racetrack memory, writing element of spatial optical modulator and reading head of hard disk drive. After achieving exceptional magnetic characteristics in BFO-based thin films, our research delves into their practical applicability, specifically investigating suitable etching conditions to minimize magnetic damage during microfabrication processes.

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Conjugated macrocycles have attracted considerable attention due to their unique electronic and optical properties, which make them interesting candidates for application in molecular and organic electronic devices or photo switches.1 The [n]cycloparaphenylenes ([n]CPPs), macrocycles built from benzene rings linked at the para positions end-to-end, illustrate the challenges faced when targeting highly strained molecules. A cycloparaphenylene-based molecular lemniscate (CPPL), the lemniscular analogue of [16]cycloparaphenylene was synthesized of a radially conjugated π-electron system with a double half-twist. The structural design of the CPPL provides a unique opportunity to observe the effect of curvature variations on the electronic structure in isolation from other influences. The electronic properties of this new system differ from those of the parent [16]CPP ring, showing absorption and emission features more characteristic of smaller cycloparaphenylenes. The twisted nanohoop of CPPL can be resolved into configurationally stable enantiomers, which are found to produce circularly polarized luminescence (CPL).2 More generally, the approach to curvature control presented in this work enables reduction of electronic bandgaps while retaining large conjugation lengths in nanohoop systems. Also, Raman optical activity (ROA) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) have been detected, in a single Raman experiment, for enantiomers of a CPPL stabilized by a bicarbazole unit.3

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Diagnostic tools have been the need of the hour owing to the several threatful diseases in human society. With the appreciable increase in the incidences of risk factors, there is a great need for a tool that can be quick and reliable with high accuracy in detecting infected bioagents in the biological samples. The fiber-based biosensor can serve as a low-cost, efficient device for day-to-day applications. Fiber optic plasmonic sensors use an optical field to measure the biological agents. Due to their unique sensing performances, fiber optic plasmonic sensors turn out to be potential alternatives to conventional fiber optic sensors. Fiber optic plasmonic sensors use optical transduction mechanisms to enhance sensitivity and resolution. The transduction mechanisms of fiber optic plasmonic sensors with different geometrical structures and the photonic properties of the geometries enhance the sensitivity of the sensors. The studies of optical properties with a combination of suitable materials for testing the biosamples allow for diagnosing diseases in the medical field.

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Optical waveguides provide a non-destructive technique to find different types of testing and detection application in several fields. The designing of optical waveguides plays a key role to determine their operation. Some common optical waveguides are optical fibers, rigid bulk waveguides, slot waveguides, etc. It is possible to regulate the effective refractive index of light by changing the size, shape, and material of a particular waveguide. The change in effective refractive index passing through the waveguide due to the presence or absence of a particular sensing environment is measured for sensing applications. Optical waveguides have various uses in dispersion engineering, harmonic generation, ultrafast optics, etc. Here application of photonic quasi-crystal fibers for second harmonic generation and the application of slot waveguides as the sensor will be mainly focused on. Further, it will be shown how the geometry and material of a particular waveguide affect the effective refractive index and power of light passing through the waveguide and thus affects the required application.

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MaMaSELF+ is a two-year international Master course in Materials Science fully taught in English, delivering multiple master’s degree, and recognized as European formation of excellence in this field since 2007. The consortium includes 6 primary European Universities in the field of Materials sciences, Engineering Physics and Chemistry in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
The joint program covers fundamentals of Materials: structure and dynamics of condensed matter, and chemical, mechanical and physical properties of materials. One specific aim of the MaMaSELF program is to emphasize on the application of "Large scale facilities" for the characterization and development of materials.
The program structure consists of 3 semesters of lectures and a 4thsemester dedicated to a Master-thesis / internship in highly recognized European Universities.

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Since the turn of the century, there has been a clear advancement and discovery of new functional materials for advanced applications like e.g energy technologies and many other fields. It is very important to understand the relation between atomic structure and properties of these materials. The atomic arrangement in a material may also change when we drastically reduce it to nanosize. This is evident when we reduce the size of metallic nanoparticles when going below 5nm. It is often believed that the nanosized particles would have the same structure with that of the bulk. This is characterized with the help of X-Ray diffraction (reciprocal space) where we typically confirm the structure of the material. However, there may be some difference between the bulk and local structure of the material. In the latter case, analysis of the direct lattice would be beneficial as well. Extended X-Ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS) could be employed to analyze the local structure. However, the structural information obtained from the EXAFS can be only corresponding tothe first few coordination shells. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)is another widely used technique to understand the atomic structure of the nanoparticles. However, highly disordered materials can be difficult to characterize and it is limited to number of particles analyzed at a time. This is where pair distribution function (PDF) comes in handy tool to sort out the difference between the bulk and local structure of a material. A PDF is a Fourier transform of total scattering data and represents the distribution of all interatomic distances in a material. The main advantage about PDF is that it never discriminates between Bragg scattering and diffuse scattering. A PDF includes information about crystalline, nanostructured, disordered or fully amorphous of a material.

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In the emerging field of spintronic, novel properties with unprecedented control of magnetism is prerequisite, in that rare-earth ferrite oxide (RFeO3) materials are very good example for explaining the temperature and/or magnetic field induced spin-reorientation, magnetic reversal and multiferroric properties. In RFeO3, a weak ferromagnetism (FM) originates from the slightly canted antiferromagnetism (AFM) in the Fe-sublattices (at relatively higher temperature) while R-sublattice ordered antiferromagnetically (at low temperature). Here, a delicate exchange interplay between R 4-f and Fe 3-d electrons in the complex oxides which results in an interesting magnetic behaviors are observed and they are strongly dependent on external agents like applied field, temperature and pressure etc. I will start with some basic information about the perovskite oxides, difficulty and challenging in growing a good quality RFeO3 single crystal using Optical Floating Zone (OFZ) followed by the magnetic interactions of R3+ and Fe3+ ions in RFeO3 single crystals and the underlying principles for the observed properties are discussed in details.

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Materials have made enormous impacts in the human lives ever since the stone age. Notably, the recent macro, micro and nanoforms of materials have shown diverse physiochemical properties. For instance, a tailored ferromagnet at nano size loses its hard magnetic properties and becomes super paramagnet, which can act as a potential drug carrier. Patients with implanted peritoneal dialysis catheter suffer due to biofouling and bacterial infection. Nevertheless, a simple technique using micron-thick antibacterial coating can potentially ease their agony and reduce the rate of bacterial infection. Aging develops saggy eyes, which ultimately affects one's confidence. To get rid of this, we have developed a cost-effective 3D printed mask. It is my great privilege to share my experience as a technopreneur which I hope will pave a way to budding scientists.

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Magnetic reversal using an electric field is a promising and future technology for multifunctional devices due to its lower power consumption. Multiferroic materials with magneto-electric effect, which simultaneously exhibit spontaneous polarization and magnetization, have been receiving greater attention. In these days, fabrication of the highly qualified (Bi1-xBax)FeO3 (BBFO) films with ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity by using a pulsed DC reactive sputtering technique and also demonstration of the magnetization reversal by electric field were succeeded. However, the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and the coercivity of the BBFO films were not sufficient for high performance magnetic device application. I have newly tried the fabrication of highly qualified La-doped BiFeO3 based films by using reactive pulsed DC sputtering method.

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Biomaterials are synthetic materials used to replace part of a living system or to function in contact with living tissue. Bio ceramic based materials have played a prominent role in repairing and regenerating the tissues in the human body. Calcium phosphate, mainly hydroxyapatite (nHAp), has been used for over three decades in clinical applications, such as hip, bone, and dental replacements. Synthesis of magnetic nano-bioceramics, which could be used for controlled drug delivery and hyperthermia application. The magnetic properties of nHAp doped with different magnetic ions, such as Fe3+, Co2+ and Ag+/Fe2+ ions, nHAp nanocomposites have studied with potential to deliver the drug wit multi-stage at specific-site could be used to treat malignant tumor without any bacterial side effect. In addition, HAp sorbent could be used effectively to remove the fluoride ions and also it has better efficiency to re-use the n-HAp material for removal of fluorine ions from drinking water. Further, the effect of swift heavy Si5+ ion irradiation on nanosize Fe-HAp has better antibacterial efficacy against S. aureus which could be useful in treatment of bone and joint infections. In conclusion, metal doped HAp could assist bone growth, fracture healing and treat the cancer cells due to its excellent magnetic properties and drug releasing properties.

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Research mainly comprises of four parts (i) Reviewing literature, (ii) Experimentation (iii) Analyzing the results from different characterization and (iv) Citing the literature. Among the four parts, reviewing the literature, analysis of results and citing the literature consumes most of the time to complete your research work. Before two decades, the analysis of research and citing the literature were much more tedious than now. Nowadays there a several software which had simplified the reviewing and analysis part to some extent. Some of the most significant software used for finding articles related to your research are google scholar and research gate. The best part of these are they are free of cost. For analyzing purpose, several software for different characterization techniques have been developed. Among them, the foremost significant software is origin, Fityk, Match, Powdercell etc. Due to short time, I have planned my talk to be specific about the use of google scholar, research gate and Endnote.