Engineering Functional
Materials for
Next-Generation
Electronic Devices
Undergraduate researcher working at the intersection of piezoelectric and ferroelectric thin films, MEMS integration, and structure–property correlations in functional oxides.
Every functional device begins with a material. Understanding how processing, interfaces, and microstructure shape device behavior is the driving force behind my research.
Every device capability traces back to how atoms arrange at an interface. Understanding that hierarchy — from crystal lattice to system performance — is the core of this research agenda.
PZT Interface Engineering
Investigating how buffer-layer design, electrode architecture, and crystallographic orientation influence the electrical, piezoelectric, and electromechanical performance of PZT thin-film devices. Combining wafer-scale characterization with device-level measurements to establish structure–property–performance relationships in piezoelectric MEMS platforms.
Quantitative Electromechanical Characterization of Piezoelectric Thin Films
Developed high-accuracy methodologies for extracting the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃) in AlN and PZT thin films on Mo/Si substrates. Addressed substrate-bending artifacts, a key limitation in nanoscale electromechanical metrology, through optimized micro-electrode design and validated Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) displacement profiles using coupled multiphysics finite-element simulations in COMSOL.
First-Principles Analysis of PZT
Combining sol-gel synthesis with density functional theory to investigate phase formation and electronic structure in lead zirconate titanate. Confirming perovskite phase via XRD, analyzing grain morphology via FESEM, and computing band gaps and density of states using Materials Studio.
Crystal Growth & Poling — DRDO
Analyzing orientation selection for CdZnTe single-crystal growth using (111) seeds to suppress twinning. Evaluating pulsed versus DC poling strategies on PMN-PT single crystals, and analyzing binary/ternary phase equilibria using Thermo-Calc.
Why do interfaces degrade in ultra-thin ferroelectric stacks?
How reliable are LDV-based d₃₃ extraction methods at the nanoscale?
Can AlN and ferroelectrics coexist in hybrid MEMS systems?
What limits scaling in piezoelectric thin-film devices?
How do buffer layer crystallography choices propagate to device-level response?