Design of electron correlation effects in interfaces and nanostructures

Abstract

We propose that one of the best grounds for the materials design from the viewpoint of {\it electron correlation} such as ferromagnetism, superconductivity is the atomically controlled nanostructures and heterointerfaces, as theoretically demonstrated here from three examples with first-principles calculations: (i) Band ferromagnetism in a purely organic polymer of five-membered rings, where the flat-band ferromagnetism due to the electron-electron repulsion is proposed. (ii) Metal-induced gap states (MIGS) of about one atomic monolayer thick at insulator/metal heterointerfaces, recently detected experimentally, for which an exciton-mechanism superconductivity is considered. (iii) Alkali-metal doped zeolite, a class of nanostructured host-guest systems, where ferromagnetism has been experimentally discovered, for which a picture of the "supercrystal" composed of "superatoms" is proposed and Mott-insulator properties are considered. These indicate that design of electron correlation is indeed a promising avenue for nanostructures and heterointerfaces.

to be published in Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on Atomically Controlled Surfaces, Interfaces and Nanostructures, Nara, Nov. 2003, 14 pages, 10 figures