First-principles-based calculations of caloric effects in ferroelectrics and multiferroics
4th. Jul. 2019, ICAMS Special Seminar, ICAMS, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, IC-02-722
Time:
Start: 4th. Jul. 2019. 10:00 a.m.
End: 4th. Jul. 2019. 11:00 a.m.
Author(s):
Prof. Dr. Claude Ederer Materials Theory, ETH Zurich
Organizer(s):
Dr. Anna Grünebohm ICAMS, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Abstract:
So-called ferro-caloric effects, i.e. a change of temperature under application of an external field, are currently under intense investigation as a potential solution for future solid-state cooling devices, which promise to be more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly than currently used devices. These effects are particularly strong in ferroic materials close to the ferroic ordering temperatures, where modest fields can lead to huge entropy changes by ordering electric or magnetic dipoles or other orientational degrees of freedom. Here, I will show how first-principles-based calculations can be used to explore ways for optimizing the caloric response of ferroelectric materials, and I will discuss the possibility to use cross-caloric effects in multiferroics such as strained SrMnO3, where the magnetic and ferroelectric ordering temperatures can be tuned to coincide.