The Materials Discovery Laboratory is a synthesis and crystal growth facility based in the Department of Materials (D-MATL), at ETH Zurich. The facility stems from a joint initiative between D-MATL and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), with the aim to strengthen the collaboration and exchange of students between ETH Zurich and PSI. The Materials Discovery Lab actively trains undergraduate and graduate students in advanced crystal growth and investigation methods through projects.
The Materials Discovery Lab kicked off in 2021 with the hiring of Dr. Monica Ciomaga Hatnean as the Lab head and PSI research scientist. The facility benefited from start-up funding from the ETH Board and PSI for equipment and staff. The commissioning of the first experimental equipment started in 2023.
The research of the Materials Discovery Lab targets the broader areas of Materials Science, Solid State Chemistry and Condensed Matter Physics, and focuses on the study of materials that exhibit exotic states of matter (e.g., topological insulators, superconductors, skyrmion lattices), frustrated magnetism (e.g., pyrochlores, garnets), multiferroic, ferroelectric and magnetoelectric properties, as well as 2D materials.
The structural and physical properties of the materials prepared at the Materials Discovery Lab is investigated using a wide range of techniques, including powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction, magnetisation, thermodynamic and transport measurements, which are available in D-MATL and at PSI, as well as synchrotron, neutron scattering and muon spectroscopy techniques available at large scale facilities.
For more information, please visit the website of the facility.