Predicting and Controlling Electron Motion: Record-Breaking Performance in a Key Oxide Material

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/25/2026) — Led by the Jalan Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota, researchers have published a landmark study in Reports on Progress in Physics that establishes a predictive, atomically resolved framework for understanding charge transport in complex oxides. By combining atomically precise hybrid molecular beam epitaxy at Minnesota with advanced first-principles diagrammatic Monte Carlo theory developed by Marco Bernardi and his group at Caltech, the team achieved the highest room-temperature electron mobility reported to date in anatase TiO₂ thin films, with theory and experiment showing striking quantitative agreement. The work provides a microscopic view of polarons – electrons dressed by lattice vibrations – revealing how phonon interactions and oxygen vacancies govern transport across temperature regimes. This unified Minnesota-Caltech collaboration not only resolves longstanding questions about polaronic conduction but also offers a broadly applicable blueprint for designing high-performance oxide semiconductors and next-generation quantum materials.

Read the full article at IOP science website

Learn more about the Jalan Group’s research at their website.