Does theory lead experiments or do experiments lead theory? Scientists know the correct answer is that interplay between theory and experiments result in new advances. At times, experiment and technological development pave the way for theory. At other times, successful theory can contribute substantially to interpretation and analysis of the experimental data. But even more important is when theory can predict new effects and lead to new experiments and developments. This is evident in the new work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Materials Research Science and Engineering Center published in the scientific journal Nano Letters. Three years ago, theoretical work of a research group of UNL physics and astronomy professor Evgeny Tsymbal predicted a new effect that could revolutionize the field of microelectronics by allowing faster, smaller and more energy-efficient memory devices. Recently, measurements of the electrical properties of ferroelectric materials performed at the Alexei Gruverman lab led to experimental verification of the predicted behavior. In their paper published online Aug. 21 in Nano Letters, Gruverman, an associate professor of physics and astronomy, and Tsymbal, with co-authors demonstrated a several-orders-of-magnitude change in electrical resistance upon flipping of polarization in ultra-thin ferroelectric films. Because of their ability to […]