Congratulations to Dr. Mostafa Marzouk on a successful PhD defense
As a PhD student in the NISE department, Mostafa worked on interface-induced ferromagnetism and superconductivity in 2D electron gases.
Title: “Interface- Induced Ferromagnetism and Superconductivity in Two- Dimensional Electron Gases"
Abstract
Herbert Kroemer's phrase "interface is a device" underscores how engineered interfaces can transform material properties. Oxide thin films, especially since the discovery of electron correlations in Mott insulators and high-Tc superconductivity in cuprates, have become key platforms for such effects. Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at oxide interfaces exhibit superior properties to conventional semiconductors, including high carrier densities and emergent phenomena like ferromagnetism and superconductivity. Conventional superconductivity typically opposes ferromagnetism.
Mostafa’s PhD work investigates two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) that emerge at KTaO₃/LaTiO₃ interfaces—formed between a band insulator and a Mott insulator—grown using molecular beam epitaxy. We observed strain- induced ferromagnetism at both KTaO₃ (110)/LaTiO₃ and (111)/LaTiO₃ interfaces, with high electron mobility. The (111) interface shows ferromagnetism and superconductivity onset near 1 K. Remarkably, his results reveal a complex interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity— both phenomena are coexisting or competing within two dimensions depending on the LaTiO₃ thickness—pointing signatures of unconventional superconductivity.
