Samenvatting
AcknowledgmentsCurriculum vitae viii Contents Materials in which competing interactions lead to the appearance of modulated phases are not only fascinating from a fundamental point of view, but are also promising candidates for applications. In particular, at the transition point between different periodicities, chaotic behaviour and large fluctuations are expected, that can be exploited as deliberate means to enhance electronic adaptability. Even though the concept of "edge of chaos" [20, 21] is well developed in dynamical systems, described by periodicity doubling cascades and bifurcation theory, and it is often linked to self-adaptation and learning in complex systems [22], its use in relation to enhanced electronic functionalities is under-explored [23]. Because an analogy has been made between chaos and the existence of modulated phases in systems with competing interactions, these could be employed with the goal of creating highly adaptable systems at "the edge of (spatial) chaos" [24]. This thesis focuses on the materials science aspects around developing this type of adaptability and can be considered as a first step in this direction.To do so, understanding and possibly control on the relative stability of the competing structures is needed. Therefore, for this research, we have selected two examples of solid state systems, CaF e 2 O 4 and BaT iO 3 , displaying multiple periodic structures that can be accessed in the laboratory. The modulation in CaF e 2 O 4 arises from the alternation of chains of parallel spins in two overall antiferromagnetic structures. In BaT iO 3 the modulation is given by periodic ferroelastic domains with alternating polarization direction. In both cases, growing the material in thin film form on a crystalline substrate allows to exploit epitaxial strain as a handle to tune the relative stability of the different phases. In the case of CaF e 2 O 4 , which is the main 1.1.1 CaFe 2 O 4 Unlike many the other compounds with the unit formula AM 2 O 4 , CaF e 2 O 4 does not have the Spinel structure [49] and, instead, crystallizes in a orthorhombic structure with space group P nma and lattice parameters a = 9.230 Å , b = 3.024 Å and c = 10.705 Å, that was first characterized in the late 1950s [50-52]. The F e 3+ ions of the CaF e 2 O 4 structure occupy two crystallographically distinct positions, F e(1) and F e(2), each surrounded by 6 oxygen atoms in octahedral coordination. Both F e types forms zig-zag chains that run parallel to the b-axis. F eO 6 octahedra within the same chain share edges, whereas neighbouring chains are connected through corners. This connectivity results into a tunnel structure with the Ca 2+ cations occupying bicapped triangular prismatic cavities with oxygen coordination number of 8. The same characteristic M O 6 octahedra network is also found in several other compounds, including CaCr 2 O 4 , CaV 2 O 4 , CaM n 2 O 4 , CaT i 2 O 4 1 and Eu 3 O 4 , [53] as well as many rare-earth oxides with large alkali cations, that are sometimes referred to as...