Studying transition between insulating and conducting states in complex oxides

When water freezes or boils, its atomic structure undergoes a phase transition in response to temperature change. Phase transitions are common in nature, and have been exploited to make devices such as digital memories. Complex oxides, which involve multiple cationic elements that enable fine tuning of properties, exhibit a particularly rich set of phase transitions because electrons in these materials are correlated with each other, leading to collective behavior and complex self-organized patterns.