Summer School 2019

GraFOx Summer School on Oxide Semiconductors for Smart Electronic Devices

The GraFOx Summer School on Oxide Semiconductors for Smart Electronic Devices took place from June 3−9, 2019 at the Centro Italo-Tedesco per l’Eccellenza Europea (Villa Vigoni), Loveno di Menaggio (CO), Lake Como, Italy. The event was organized by the Leibniz ScienceCampus GraFOx (Growth and Fundamentals of Oxides for Electronic Applications), and aimed to provide Ph.D. candidates and post-docs with the opportunity to have an in-depth look into the dynamic field of oxide semiconductor materials research and applications.

Scope

The program combined fundamental tutorial lectures by leading experts, with specialized contributions from young researchers reporting on the latest developments on experimental investigations and methods, as well as on theoretical calculation procedures in the field. Participants exchanged their scientific results in a poster exhibition which was displayed throughout the week and discussed during breaks.

The Summer School covered the following topics:

Transport in oxide materials
Oxide surfaces—theory and experiments
Bulk oxide growth crystallography
Calculations of oxide materials properties
Ferroelectricity and memrestivity of oxide semiconductors
Growth and characterization of layered oxide materials
Transmission electron microscopy and characterization of point defects
Oxide semiconductor devices and applications
Introduction into industrial research an development

In addition to the scientific program, the Summer School offered a conductive learning and discussion atmosphere. The Villa Vigoni complex, set within the Lake Como landscape, extends over 40 ha (100 acres) in Loveno di Menaggio. It includes two large classicistic villas with their historical gardens. Most of the Summer School activities took place in Villa Mylius-Vigoni and Villa Garovaglio-Ricci, in beautiful historical rooms and a modern conference venue. Joint meals and social events completed the scientific program and offered opportunities for exchange beyond scientific questions.

Program

Each participating Ph.D. candidate/student presented at least one poster with their scientific results and gave an appetizer talk. The program also featured complimentary methodological talks, assigned thematically to the invited tutorials and thematic lectures. You can find the full program in the booklet (PDF)

Invited Lecturers and talk downloads

The following highly recognized researchers in the field of oxide semiconductors gave introductional tutorial talks:

Claudine Chopin-Noguera (CNRS INSP and Sorbonne Université, Orsay/Paris, France):
Oxide Surfaces and Thin Films
Regina Dittmann (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Deutschland):
Functional Oxides for Memory Applications
Roberto Fornari (Università degli Studi di Parma, Italia):
Bulk Oxide Growth
Shizuo Fujita (Kyoto University, Japan):
Epitaxial Growth Technologies of Oxide Semiconductor Thin Films
Michael Heuken (Aixtron SE and RWTH Aachen, Herzogenrath, Deutschland):
Introduction into World-Leading Semiconductor Industry
Debdeep Jena (Cornell University, Ithaca/NY, U.S.A.):
Electron Transport in Wide-Gap Oxides
Lena F. Kourkoutis (Cornell University, Ithaca/NY, U.S.A.):
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy — Probing local structure, chemistry and functional properties
Chris G. van de Walle (University of California at Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A.):
First-Principles Modeling of Oxides
Joachim Würfl (Leibniz Ferdinand-Braun-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Berlin, Deutschland):
Gallium Oxide Semiconductor Devices and Applications

Social activities

The Summer School included two afternoons of organized social activities for enhancing the communication between participants. The first was a boat trip on the lake Como within the triangle of Menaggio, Bellagio and Varenna. The second was a guided tour through the town of Como, following the path of physicist Alessandro Volta, after whom the unit of the voltage and electrical potential is named. Villa Mylius-Vigoni and the park were open exclusively for our participants, offering guided tours on the German-Italian culture and history of the villa.

Location

The GraFOx Summer School 2019 was held in a unique and usually inaccessible location: The beautiful classicistic Villa Vigoni − Centro Italo-Tedesco per l’Eccellenza Europea, above Lake Como, embedded within the mountainside of the northern Italian alps. The Villa Vigoni Center consists of serval buildings, including the Villa Mylius-Vigoni und Villa Garovaglio-Ricci, both built up in the early 19^th century. They have been lovingly maintained and have all their original features, including an enormous cultural heritage. The classical German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe resided there approximately 200 years ago. Directly attached to the villas you will find 40 ha (100 acres) of beautiful botanical gardens.