Proximitized Materials

TL;DR

Proximitized materials leverage interface-induced effects in heterostructures to engineer novel properties like superconductivity and topological states, expanding material design possibilities beyond traditional methods.

Contribution

This paper introduces a systematic framework for designing materials via proximity effects, emphasizing their ability to induce properties absent in individual components.

Findings

Proximity effects enable the realization of new material properties.

Interface quality and heterostructure scaling are crucial for effective proximity effects.

The principles apply broadly beyond magnetic and spin-orbit interactions.

Abstract

Advances in scaling down heterostructures and having an improved interface quality together with atomically-thin two-dimensional materials suggest a novel approach to systematically design materials. A given material can be transformed through proximity effects whereby it acquires properties of its neighbors, for example, becoming superconducting, magnetic, topologically nontrivial, or with an enhanced spin-orbit coupling. Such proximity effects not only complement the conventional methods of designing materials by doping or functionalization, but can also overcome their various limitations. In proximitized materials it is possible to realize properties that are not present in any constituent region of the considered heterostructure. While the focus is on magnetic and spin-orbit proximity effects with their applications in spintronics, the outlined principles provide also a broader framework for employing other proximity effects to tailor materials and realize novel phenomena.