Dr. Frank Lichtenberg
Dr. Frank Lichtenberg
Staff of Professorship for Materials Theory
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Additional information
Research area
Field of work:
Setting up and operating a laboratory for the synthesis and study of special oxides in the division of Prof. Nicola Spaldin at the Department of Materials of the ETH Zurich. For further information click here (1) and click here (2)
Synthesis of oxides - especially in crystalline form via the melt - and study of their physical and structural properties, especially searching for new superconductors and new materials which are simultaneously (anti)ferroelectric and (anti)ferromagnetic. For further information click here
Teaching during the fall semester: For further information click here (1) and click here (2)
Born 1962 in Bremen, Germany.
1983 – 1989: Study of physics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
1989 – 1992: PhD student in the division of Dr. Georg Bednorz at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland. Field of work: Synthesis of oxides – especially in crystalline form via the melt – and study of their physical and structural properties. Doctorate at the University of Zurich in 1991. Supervisor from the University of Zurich: Prof. Franz Waldner.
1992 – 1997: Research scientist in the nickel metal hydride technology department of Dr. Uwe Koehler at the research center of the battery company VARTA, Germany. Field of work: Hydrogen storage alloys and nickel metal hydride batteries. Two months stay as guest scientist in Tokyo, Japan, at the TOSHIBA Battery Company within a collaboration between VARTA and TOSHIBA.
1997 – 2007: Research scientist in the department of Prof. Jochen Mannhart at the Institute of Physics of the University of Augsburg, Germany. Field of work: Setting up and operating an oxide synthesis laboratory, preparation of oxides – especially in crystalline form via the melt – and study of their physical and structural properties,.
2007 – 2010: Freelance work and autonomous occupation with subjects in the area of physics / science. Creation of the website novam-research.comcall_made about entirely novel energy technologies and related topics.
Since 2011: Research scientist in the division of Prof. Nicola Spaldin at the Department of Materials of the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Field of work: Setting up and operating an oxide synthesis laboratory, preparation of oxides – especially in crystalline form via the melt – and study of their physical and structural properties, and teaching.
Secondary employment: Since 2015 consulting activities for the research and development company Quantum Power Munich GmbHcall_made
Publications
Publications and patents (pdf)
Selected publications
Melt-grown synthesis of oxide materials by the floating zone method: Presentation of a custom-made data and image recording, processing, and visualization system for a Cyberstar mirror furnace |
Carpy-Galy phases AnBnO3n+2 = ABOx : Overview, properties, special and hypothetical systems, and melt-grown synthesis of A- and O-deficient n = 5 types such as Sr19Nb19WO66 and Sr17Ca2Nb19WO64 and n = 6 type Ln6Ti4Fe2O20 and Ca6Nb5FeO20 |
Synthesis of melt-grown hexagonal YMnO3 , YMn0.95O2.93 , YMnO3+y , and DyMnO3-d and study of their properties by powder x-ray diffraction, piezoresponse force microscopy, a SQUID magnetometer, and thermogravimetry |
Synthesis of melt-grown crystalline Mn4Nb2O9 and Fe4Nb2O9 and study of their properties by thermogravimetry, powder x-ray diffraction, and a SQUID magnetometer |
Presentation about a laboratory for the synthesis and study of (melt-grown) oxides and related topics |
The following papers are about oxides of the type AnBnO3n+2 = ABOx which are called Carpy-Galy phases. They have a layered perovskite-related crystal structure and are interesting for several reasons. For example, they comprise the highest-Tc ferroelectrics such as the n=4 type Sr4Nb4O14 = SrNbO3.5 with Tc = 1615 K and quasi-1D metals such as the n=5 type Sr5Nb5O17 = SrNbO3.4 where the conduction electrons are embedded in a ferroelectric-like environment. Oxides of the type AnBnO3n+2 might have a potential to create new superconductors and / or new materials which are simultaneously (anti)ferroelectric and (anti)ferromagnetic.
Photoinduced metastable dd-exciton-driven metal-insulator transitions in quasi-one-dimensional transition metal oxides |
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Carpy-Galy phases AnBnO3n+2 = ABOx : Overview, properties, special and hypothetical systems, and melt-grown synthesis of A- and O-deficient n = 5 types such as Sr19Nb19WO66 and Sr17Ca2Nb19WO64 and n = 6 type Ln6Ti4Fe2O20 and Ca6Nb5FeO20 |
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Atomic-Scale Origin of the Quasi-One-Dimensional Metallic Conductivity in Strontium Niobates with Perovskite-Related Layered Structures |
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Patterning Oxide Nanopillars at the Atomic Scale by Phase Transformation |
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Atomic and electronic structure of the SrNbO3 / SrNbO3.4 interface |
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Spontaneous Structural Distortion and Quasi-One-Dimensional Quantum Confinement in a Single-Phase Compound |
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Anisotropic thermal expansion of Lan(Ti,Fe)nO3n+2 (n = 5 and 6) |
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Two-dimensional magnetic clusters in Lan (Ti1-xFex)n O3n+2 (n=5 with x=0.2 and n=6 with x=0.33) |
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Synthesis, structural, magnetic and transport properties of perovskite-related layered titanates, niobates and tantalates of the type AnBnO3n+2, A’Ak-1BkO3k+1 and AmBm-1O3m |
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Effect of pressure on the polarized infrared optical response of quasi-one-dimensional LaTiO3.41 |
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Crystal Structure of Ca5Nb5O17 |
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Electronic and vibrational properties of low-dimensional perovskites Sr1-yLayNbO3.5-x |
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Crystal structure of LaTiO3.41 under pressure |
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Signatures of polaronic excitations in quasi-one-dimensional LaTiO3.41 |
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Perovskite-related LaTiO3.41 |
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Extremly small energy gap in the quasi-one dimensional conducting chain compound SrNbO3.41 |
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Dielectric properties and charge transport in the (Sr,La)NbO3.5-x system |
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Synthesis of perovskite-related layered AnBnO3n+2 = ABOX type niobates and titanates and study of their structural, electric and magnetic properties |
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Electronic structure of layered perovskite-related (Sr,La)NbO3.5-x |
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Centrosymmetric or noncentrosymmetric? Case study, Generalization, and Structural Redetermination of Sr5Nb5O17 |
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Layered perovskitic structures in pure and doped LaTiO3.5-x and SrNbO3.5-x |
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Phase diagram of LaTiOx : from 2D layered ferroelectric insulator to 3D weak ferromagnetic insulator |
The following publications and patents are about Sr2RuO4 which has likewise a layered perovskite-related crystal structure. The preparation of Sr2RuO4 in crystalline form and subsequent temperature-dependent resistivity measurements did reveal that Sr2RuO4 displays along its layers a metallic resistivity behavior. In crystalline form Sr2RuO4 was the first metallic substrate for the epitaxial growth of thin films of high-Tc superconductors like YBa2Cu3O7-x. Some years later the still existing availability of Sr2RuO4 in crystalline form did contribute to the discovery that Sr2RuO4 itself is also a superconductor. Despite of its low Tc of about 1 K it gained considerable attention because of its unconventional superconducting properties. Even after 25 years research the superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 comprises many open questions and is still an active field of research as indicated, for example, by a Sr2RuO4 workshop "25 years of a puzzling superconductor" which took place in May 2019 at the ETH Zurich.
The story of Sr2RuO4 |
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Spin-triplet superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 probed by Andreev reflection |
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Fermi surface and extended van Hove singularity in the non-cuprate superconductor Sr2RuO4 |
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Superconductivity in a layered perovskite without copper |
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Refinement of the structure of Sr2RuO4 with 100 and 295 K x-ray data |
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Method for manufacturing high Tc superconducting circuit elements with metallic substrate |
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Superconducting circuit elements with metallic substrate and method for manufacturing the same |
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Sr2RuO4: A metallic substrate for the epitaxial growth of YBa2Cu3O7-x |
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New layered perovskites in the Sr-Ru-O system: A transmission electron microscope study |
The following papers and patents are about hydrogen storage alloys and nickel hydroxide electrodes for rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride batteries.
Alkaline metal oxide / metal hydride battery |
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Alloys for use as active material for the negative electrode of an alkaline, rechargeable nickel-metal hydride battery, and process for its production |
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Relationship between composition, volume expansion and cyclic stability of AB5 type metalhydride electrodes |
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Development of AB5 type hydrogen storage alloys with low Co content for rechargeable Ni / MH batteries with respect to electric vehicle applications |
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Ni / Metal hydride accumulator |
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Properties of Zr(V0.25Ni0.75)2 metal hydride as active electrode material |
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Stability enhancement of the CoOOH conductive network of nickel hydroxide electrodes |