2017 / 2018

C.S. Sandu, F. Parsapour, S. Mertin, V. Pashchenko, R. Matloub, Th. LaGrange, B. Heinz, P. Muralt, Abnormal grain growth in AlScN thin films induced by complexion formation at crystallite interfaces, Physica Status Solidi A, 1800569 (2018). C.H. Nguyen, R. Nigon, T.M. Raeder, U. Hanke, E. Halvorsen, and P. Muralt, Probing models for interdigitated electrode systems with ferroelectric thin films, J.Phys.D: Appl.Phys.51, 175303 (2018) S. Mertin, B. Heinz, O. Rattunde, G. Christmann, M.-A. Dubois, S. Nicolay, P. Muralt, Piezoelectric and structural properties of c-axis textured AlScN thin films up to high Sc content, Surf.Coat.Techn.343, 2-6(2018) F. P. G. Fengler, R. Nigon, P. Muralt, E. D. Grimley, X. Sang, V. Sessi, R. Hentschel, J. M. LeBeau, T. Mikolajick, and U. Schroeder, Analysis of Performance Instabilities of Hafnia-Based Ferroelectrics Using Modulus Spectroscopy and Thermally Stimulated Depolarization Currents, Adv.Electr. Mat.4,1700547 (2018) S. Mertin, T. Länzlinger, C.S. Sandu, J.-L. Scartezzini, P. Muralt, Combinatorial study of low refractive Mg-F-Si-O nano-composites deposited by magnetron co-sputtering from compound targets, Appl.Surf.Science 435, 170-177 (2018) Y. Shi, I. Garbayo, P. Muralt, J.L.M. Rupp, Micro-solid state energy conversion membranes: influence of doping and strain on oxygen ion transport and near order for electrolytes, J.Mat.Chem.A 5, 3900 (2017) R. Nigon, T.M. Raeder, P. Muralt, Measurement methodology for lead zirconate, titanate thin films with interdigitated electrode structures, J. Appl.Phys.121, 204101 (2017) F.P.G. Fengler, M. Pesic, S. Starschich, T. Schneller, Ch. Künneth, U. Böttger, H. Mulaosmanovic, T. Schenk, M.H. Park, R. Nigon, P. Muralt, T. Mikolajick, U. Schröder, Domain pinning: Comparison of Hafnia and PZT based ferroelectrics, Adv.Electron.Mater. 3, 1600505 (2017)

2016

M. Hadad, H. Ashraf, G. Mohanty, C. Sandu, P. Muralt, Key-features in processing and microstructure for achieving giant electrostriction in gadolinium doped ceria thin films, Acta. Mat. 118 (2016). C.S. Sandu, E. Wagner, S. Harada, G. Benvenuti, W. Maudez, M. Jobin, C. Pellodi, P. Muralt, A combinatorial chemical beam vapor deposition approach to tune the electrical conductivity of Mn:TiO2 films via Si co-doping, Thin Solid Films 615, 265-270 (2016). E. Wagner, C.S.Sandu, S.Harada, C.Pellodi, M. Jobin, P. Muralt, G. Benvenuti, Geometry of chemical beam vapor deposition system for efficient combinatorial investigations of thin oxide films: deposited film properties versus precursor flow simulations, ACS Combinatorial Science 18, 154-161 (2016).

2015

C.S. Sandu, E. Wagner, S. Harada, G. Benvenuti, W. Maudez, M. Jobin, C. Pellodi, P. Muralt, A combinatorial chemical beam vapor deposition approach to tune the electrical conductivity of Mn:TiO2 films via Si co-doping, Thin Solid Films, in press (2016) E. Wagner, C.S.Sandu, S.Harada, C.Pellodi, M. Jobin, P. Muralt, G. Benvenuti, Geometry of chemical beam vapor deposition system for efficient combinatorial investigations of thin oxide films: deposited film properties versus precursor flow simulations, ACS Combinatorial Science 18, 154-161 (2016) S. Zhao, B. Jiang, T. Maeder, P. Muralt, N. Kim, S.K. Matam, E. Jeong, Y-L. Han, M. M. Koebel, Dimensional and structural control of silica aerogel membranes for miniaturized gas pumps, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 7, 18803-14 (2015) S. Mertin, L. Marot, C. Sandu, R. Steiner, J.-L. Scartezzini, P. Muralt, Nanocrystalline low-refractive magnesium fluoride films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering: Optical and structural properties, Adv.Eng.Mat 17, 1652-59 (2015). E. Wagner, C.S. Sandu, S. Harada, G. Benvenuti, V. Savu, P. Muralt, Fabrication of complex oxide microstructures by combinatorial chemical beam vapour deposition through stencil masks, Thin Solid Films 586, 64-69 (2015). B. Jiang, P. Muralt, T. Maeder, Meso-scale ceramic hotplates – a playground for high-temperature MEMS applications, Sensors and Actuators B 221, 823-834 (2015). B. Jiang, A. J. Santis-Alvarez, P. Muralt, D. Poulikakos, N. Borhani, J. R. Thome and T. Maeder, Design and packaging of highly integrated microreactor system for high-temperature on-board hydrogen production, Chem.Eng.Journal 275, 206-219 (2015). N. Chidambaram, D. Balma, R. Nigon, A. Mazzalai, R. Matloub, C.S. Sandu, and P. Muralt, Converse mode piezoelectric coefficient for PZT thin film with Interdigitated electrodes, J. Micromech.Microeng. 25, 045016 (2015). B. Jiang, J. Haber, A. Renken, P. Muralt, L. Kiwi, T. Maeder, Fine structuration of low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) microreactors, Lab Chip 15, 563-574 (2015). B. Jiang, T. Maeder, A.J.Santis-Alvarez, D. Poulikakos, P. Muralt, A low-temperature co-fired ceramic microreactor system for high-efficiency on-site hydrogen production, J. Power Sources 273, 1202-12017 (2015).

2014

B. Jiang, T. Maeder, A.J.Santis-Alvarez, D. Poulikakos, P. Muralt, A low-temperature co-fired ceramic microreactor system for high-efficiency on-site hydrogen production, J. Power Sources 273, 1202-1217 (2015). A. Mazzalai, D. Balma, N. Chidambaram, R. Matloub, P. Muralt, Characterization and fatigue of the converse piezoelectric effect in PZT films for MEMS applications, J.MEMS 24, 831-838 (2015). B. Scherrer et al, A thermally self-sustained micro-power plant with integrated micro-solid oxide fuel cells, miro-reformer and functional micro-fluidic carrier, J. Power Sources 258, 434-440 (2014). D. Balma, A. Mazzalai, N. Chidambaram, C.S.Sandu, A. Neels, A. Dommann, P. Hess, D. Binz, P. Muralt, High piezoelectric longitudinal coefficient in sol-gel PZT thin film multilayers, J. Am.Ceram.Soc. 97,2069-2075 (2014).

2013

R. Matloub, M. Hadad, A. Mazzalai, N. Chidambaram, G. Moulard, C. Sandu, Th. Metzger, and P. Muralt, Piezoelectric AlScN thin films: A semiconductor compatible solution for mechanical energy harvesting and sensors, Appl.Phys.Lett. 102, 152903 (2013). N. Chidambaram, A. Mazzalai, D. Balma, and P. Muralt, Comparison of lead zirconate titanate thin films for MEMS energy harvester with interdigitated and parallel plate electrodes, IEEE Trans. UFFC 60, 1564-1571 (2013). H. Kijima, Y.W. Zhang, N. Kobayashi, S. Ohnuma, P. Muralt, N. Setter, H. Masumoto, (Co-Ti-O)/Bi-Ti-O Multilayer Films with High-Frequency Electromagnetic Response, Jap.J.Appl.Phys. 52, UNSP 09KA14 (2013. D. Lehmhus, J. Brugger, P. Muralt, S. Pane, O. Ergemann, M.A. Dubois, N. Gupta, M. Busse, When nothing is constant but change: Adaptive and sensorial materials and their impact on product design, J. Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 24, 2172-2182 (2013).

2012

J. Schachtele, E. Goll, P. Muralt, D. Kaltenbacher, Admittance Matrix of a Trapezoidal Piezoelectric Heterogeneous Bimorph, IEEE TUFFC 59, 2765-2776 (2012). A.J. Santis-Alvarez, M. Nabavi, B. Jiang, T. Maeder, P. Muralt, D. Poulikakos, A nanoparticle bed micro-reactor with high syngas yield for moderate temperature micro-scale SOFC power plants, Chem. Eng.Sci. 84, 469-478 (2012). J. Bo, P. Muralt, P. Heeb, A.J. Santis-Alvarez, M. Nabavi, D. Poulikakos, P. Niedermann, T. Maeder, A micro heater platform with fluid channels for testing micro-solid oxide fuel cell components, Sensors and Actuators B 175 218-224 (2012). U. Baran, D. Brown, S. Holmstrom, D. Balma, W.O. Davis, P. Muralt, H. Urey, Resonant PZT MEMS Scanner for High-Resolution Displays, J. MEMS 21, 1303-1310 (2012). A. Bieberle-Huetter, A.J. Santis-Alvarez, B. Jiang, P. Heeb, T. Maeder, M. Nabavi, D. Poulikakos, P. Niedermann, A. Dommann, P. Muralt, A. Bernard, L.J. Gauckler, L. J., Syngas generation from n-butane with an integrated MEMS assembly for gas processing in micro-solid oxide fuel cell systems, Lab on a Chip 12, 4894-4902 (2012). G. Piazza, V. Felmetsger, P. Muralt, R.H. Olsson, R. Ruby, Piezoelectric aluminum nitride thin films for microelectromechanical systems, MRS BULLETIN 37, 1051-1061 (2012). N. Chidamabram, A. Mazzalai, and P. Muralt, Measurement of effective piezoelectric coefficients of PZT thin films for energy harvesting application with interdigitated electrodes, IEEE Trans. UFFC 59, 1624-1631 (2012). R. Deng, P. Muralt, D. Gall, Biaxial texture development in aluminum nitride layers off-axis sputter deposition, J.Vac.Sci.Techn. A 30 (2012). A. Zukauskaite, G. Wingqvist, J. Palisaitis, J. Jensen, P.O.A. Persson, R. Matloub, P. Muralt, Y. Kim, J. Birch, L. Hultman, Microstructure and dielectric properties of piezoelectric magnetron sputtered w-ScxAl1-xN thin films, J. Appl.Phys. 111, 093527 (2012). Y.Yan, C.S. Sandu, J.Conde, P. Muralt, Experimental study of single triple-phase-boundary and platinum–yttria stabilized zirconia composite as cathodes for micro-solid oxide fuel cells, J. Power Sources 206, 84-90 (2012). U. Baran, D. Brown, S. Holmstrom, D. Balma, W.O. Davis, A. Mazzalai, P. Muralt, H. Urey, High frequency torsional MEMS scanner displays, Proceedings MEMS 2012, pp. 636-639 (2012). T. Verdot, M. Collet, P. Muralt, Optimization, design and characterization of a piezoelectric micro suspension, Int. J. Smart Nano Mat., http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19475411.2011.651510 (2012).

2011

E. Milyutin, P. Muralt, Electromechanical coupling in shear mode FBAR with piezoelectric modulated thin film, IEEE Trans. TUFFC Letter 58, 685-688 (2011). A. Dabirian, Y. Kuzminykh, S.C. Sandu, S. Harada, E. Wagner, P. Brodard, G. Benvenuti, S. Rushworth, P. Muralt, P. Hoffmann, Combinatorial high-vacuum chemical vapor deposition of textured hafnium-doped lithium niobate thin films on sapphire, Crystal Growth & Design 11, 203-209 (2011). A. Artieda, P. Muralt, 4.3 GHz composite thin film bulk acoustic resonator for miniaturized atomic clocks, Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 262902 (2011). R. Matloub, A. Artieda, E. Milyutin, P. Muralt, Electromechanical properties of Al0.9Sc0.1N thin films evaluated at 2.5 GHz film bulk acoustic wave resonators, Appl.Phys.Lett. 99, 092903 (2011). M. Iwanowska, I. Stolitchnov, E. Colla, A. Tagantsev, P. Muralt, N. Setter, Polarization reversal in BuFeO3 capacitors: Complex behavior revealed by PFM, Ferroelectrics 421, 54-59 (2011). A. Dabirian, S. Harada, Y. Kuzminykh, S.C. Sandu, E. Wagner, G. Benvenuti, P. Brodard, S. Rushworth, P. Muralt, P. Hoffmann, Combinatorial chemical beam epitaxy of lithium niobate thin films on sapphire, J. El.Chem.Soc. 158, D72-D76 (2011).

Biography

Paul Muralt received a diploma in experimental physics in 1978 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in Zurich. He accomplished his Ph.D. thesis in the field of commensurate-incommensurate phase transitions at the Solid State Laboratory of ETH. In the years 1984 and 1985 he held a post doctoral position at the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich where he pioneered the application of scanning tunneling microscopy to surface potential imaging. In 1987, after a stay at the Free University of Berlin, he joined the Balzers group in Liechtenstein. He specialized in sputter deposition techniques, and managed since 1991 a department for development and applications of Physical Vapor Deposition and PECVD processes. In 1993, he joined the Ceramics Laboratory of EPFL in Lausanne. AS group leader for thin films and MEMS devices, he specialized in piezoelectric and pyroelectric MEMS with mostly Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 and AlN thin film. His research interests are in thin film growth in general, and more specifically in property assessment of small ferroelectric structures, in integration issues of ferroelectric and other polar materials, property-microstructure relationships, and applications of polar materials in semiconductor and micro-electro-mechanical devices. More recently he extended his interests to oxide thin films of ionic conductors. The focus in piezoelectric thin films was directed towards AlN-ScN alloys. He gives lectures in thin film processing, micro fabrication, and surface analysis. He authored or co-authored more than 230 scientific articles. He became Fellow of IEEE in 2013. In 2005, he received an outstanding achievement award at the International Symposium on Integrated Ferroelectrics (ISIF), and in 2016 the B.C. Sawyer Memorial award. Chairman of the International Workshops on Piezoelectric MEMS(http://www.piezomems2011.org/)

2010

Publications: E. Milyutin, S. Harada, D. Martin, J.F. Carlin, N. Grandjean, V. Savu, O. Vasquez-Mena, J. Brugger, P. Muralt, Sputtering of AlN thin films: Control of polarity by seed layer, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 28, L61 (2010). G. Deng, P. Muralt, Annealing effects on electrical properties and defects of CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition, Phys.Rev.B 81, 224111 (2010). A. Artieda, C. Sandu, P. Muralt, Highly piezoelectric thin films grown on amorphous, insulating substrate, J.Vac.Sci.Tech. A 28, 390-393 (2010). S. Rey-Mermet, Y. Yan, C. Sandu, G. Deng, P. Muralt, Nanoporous YSZ film in electrolyte membrane of Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Thin Solid Films 518, 4743-46 (2010). A. Noeth, T. Yamada, P. Muralt, A.K. Tagantsev, N. Setter, Tunable Thin Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonator Based on BaxSr1-xTiO3 Thin Film, IEEE TRANS. ULTRASONICS FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL 57, 379-385 (2010). A. Dabirian, Y. Kuzminykh, B. Afra, S. Harada, E. Wagner, C. S. Sandu, G. Benvenuti, S. Rushworth, P. Muralt, P. Hoffmann, Combinatorial discovery and optimization of amorphous HfO2-Nb2O5 mixture with improved transparency, Electrochemical and solid-state letters 13, G60-G63 (2010).

2009

Publications: S. Diziain, S. Harada, R. Salut, P. Muralt, and M.-P. Bernal, Strong improvement in the photonic stop-band edge sharpness of a lithium niobate photonic crystal slab, Appl.Phys.Lett. 95, no. 101103 (2009). P. Muralt, R.G. Polcawich, S. Trolier-McKinstry, Piezoelectric thin films for sensors, actuators and energy harvesting, MRS Bulletin 35, 658-664 (2009). P. Muralt, J. Conde, A. Artieda, F. Martin and M. Cantoni, Piezoelectric materials parameters for piezoelectric thin films in GHz applications, International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies 1, 19-27 (2009). A. Artieda, M. Barbieri, C. Silviu Sandu, and P. Muralt, Effect of substrate roughness on c-oriented AlN thin films, J. Appl. Phys. 105, 024504 (2009) G. Deng, Z. He, and P. Muralt, Physical aspects of colossal dielectric constant material CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films, J. Appl. Phys. 105, 084106 (2009) T. Yamada, C.S. Sandu, M. Gureev, V. Sherman, A. Noeth, P. Muralt, A.K. Tagantsev, N. Setter, Self-Assembled Perovskite-Fluorite Oblique Nanostructures for Adaptive (Tunable) Electronics, Adv. Mat. 21, 1363-1367 (2009). P. Muralt, M. Marzencki, B. Belgacem, F. Calame, S. Basrour, Vibration Energy Harvesting with PZT Micro Device, PROCEEDINGS OF THE EUROSENSORS XXIII CONFERENCE, Procedia Chemistry 1, 1191-1194 (2009). Y. Yan, S. Rey-Mermet, Z.B. He, G. Deng G, P. Muralt, Micro Solid Oxide Fuel Cell in Silicon Technology with Reinforced Electrolyte Membrane, PROCEEDINGS OF THE EUROSENSORS XXIII CONFERENCE, Procedia Chemistry 1, 1207-1210 (2009).

2008

Publications A. Bieberle-Hutter, D. Beckel, A. Infortuna, U. P. Muecke, J. L.M. Rupp, L. J. Gauckler, S. Rey-Mermet, P. Muralt, N. R. Bieri, N. Hotz, M. J. Stutz, D. Poulikakos, P. Heeb, P. Müller, A. Bernard, R. Gmür, T. Hocker, A micro-solid oxide fuel cell system as battery replacement, Journal of Power Sources 177, 123–130 (2008). G. Deng, N. Xanthopoulos, and P. Muralt, Chemical nature of colossal dielectric constant of CaCu3Ti4O12 thin film by pulsed laser deposition, Appl.Phys.Lett. 92, art. 172909 (2008). P. Muralt, Piezoelectrics in Micro and Nanosystems: Solutions for a Wide Range of Applications, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 8, 2560–2567 (2008). P. Muralt, Recent Progress in Materials Issues for Piezoelectric MEMS, J.Am.Ceram.Soc. 91, 1385-96 (2008). (invited feature article) J. Conde, P. Muralt, Characterization of sol-gel PZT in thin film bulk acoustic resonators, IEEE Trans. UFFC 55, 1373-1379 (2008). S. Rey-Mermet, P. Muralt, Solid Oxide fuel cell membranes supported by nickel grid anode, Solid State Ionics 179, 1497-1500 (2008). S. Bühlmann, P. Muralt, Electrical Nanoscale Training of Piezoelectric Response Leading to Theoretically Predicted Ferroelastic Domain Contributions in PZT Thin Films, Adv. Mater. 20, 3090-95 (2008). A. Artieda, P. Muralt, High-Q AlN/SiO2 symmetric composite Thin Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators, IEEE Trans. Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control 55, 2463-2468 (2008). E. Milyutin, S. Gentil, P. Muralt, Shear mode BAW resonator based on c-axis oriented AlN thin film, J. Appl.Phys. 104, no. 084508 (2008). P. Muralt, "Piezoelectric thin films for innovations in the field of MEMS and Biosensors", Chapter 15 in: "Piezoelectricity, Evolution and Future of a Technology", edited by W. Heywang, K. Lubitz, W. Wersing, Springer Series in Materials Science, vol. 114, Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, 2008.

Completed PhD thesis

2017: Mahmoud Hadad: Nanoionics Phenomena and Devices with Oxide Thin Films". EPFL thesis no. 8130 Robin Nigon:"Internal electric fields and electrode effects in ferroelectric thin films for piezoelectric energy harvesting". EPFL thesis no. 8074 2015: Stefan Mertin: " Reactively sputtered nano-structured multilayer coatings on architectural glazing for active solar energy facades". EPFL thesis no. 6485 2014: Nachiappan Chidambaram: "Advanced sol-gel processing of PZT thin films for piezoelectric MEMS structures". EPFL thesis no. 6338. Andrea Mazzalai: "PZT thin films for MEMS devices: from in-situ sputter deposition to energy harvesting device. EPFL thesis no. 6375. Bo Jiang: "Ceramics based technologies for high-temperature micro reactors", EPFL no 6156. Ramin Matloub: " Growth and properties of AlScN thin films for microwave transducers and piezoelectric energy harvesting" EPFL thesis no. 6086. 2012: Yan Yan: “Material Study of Micromachined Thin Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cells”, EPFL no. 5365 2011: Evgeny Milyutin: "Theoretical and Experimental Study of Piezoelectric Modulated AlN Thin Films for Shear Mode BAW Resonators", EPFL no. 5113. 2010: Alvaro Artieda: "AlN thin film structures for high-Q resonators", EPFL no 4685 2009: Janine Conde: "High coupling materials for thin film bulk acoustic wave resonators", EPFL no. 4489. 2008: Samuel Rey-Mermet: "Micro fabricated solid oxide fuel cells", EPFL no. 4175. 2007: Florian Calame: "Novel Three-dimensional micromachined structures for piezoelectric MEMS and related issues in PZT thin film growth", EPFL no. 3820.