This award supports a US-India cooperative research project on Electroceramic Thin Films for Microelectronic Devices. The collaborators are Ram S. Katiyar of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and Dinesh C. Agrawal of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK). They will study fundamental structure-property relationships in electroceramic thin films, particularly novel ferroelectric (FE) and microwave dielectric materials. They will use various techniques to probe their micro- to nano-scale composition, structure and characterization. The aim is to enhance scientific knowledge of these novel materials and to consider their applications in memory and microwave devices. Scope: This award will continue a collaboration between Katiyar and Agrawal and a partnership between the UPR and the IITK that was initiated by the Division of International Programs with support from the United States India Fund. The IITK is one of the premier research institutions in India with excellent infrastructure for high quality research and training of graduate/undergraduate students. UPR research activities have risen sharply and Katiyar has equipped an excellent facility there for research in electroceramic thin film materials. He is a first-rate researcher and has mentored a large number of students, many of whom have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields. This award is jointly supported by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Materials Research.
