Research

Adaptive Functional Materials

The Gamage Lab studies materials whose electronic, ionic, structural, optical, or magnetic properties can dynamically respond to external stimuli. We seek to uncover the mechanisms that govern this adaptive behavior and use that understanding to engineer new functional materials and devices.

We use adaptive oxides and organic–inorganic hybrid materials as complementary platforms, integrating thin-film synthesis, nanofabrication, device measurements, and nanoscale characterization.

Adaptive Oxide Materials

We investigate correlated and ionically active oxide thin films as model systems for adaptive electronic behavior.

Our work focuses on how ionic motion, electronic correlations, structural transformations, defects, and interfaces govern resistance modulation, memory, and device functionality. Rare-earth nickelates and related oxides provide a rich platform for studying these coupled effects.

Key questions include:

• How does ionic motion modify local electronic structure and conductivity?
• How do interfaces and defects influence switching pathways?
• How can nanoscale material transformations be connected to macroscopic device behavior?

Our goal is to establish physically grounded design principles for reliable adaptive and neuromorphic devices.

Adaptive Hybrid Materials

We develop molecularly engineered organic–inorganic hybrid thin films as a complementary route to adaptive functionality.

Using atomic layer deposition (ALD), molecular layer deposition (MLD), and complementary synthesis approaches, we aim to control composition, bonding, and interfaces at the molecular scale.

Key questions include:

• How does molecular architecture influence electronic and ionic transport?
• Can organic components regulate ion motion, charge transfer, or interfacial chemistry?
• Can hybrid materials provide forms of adaptive behavior that are difficult to realize in conventional inorganic systems?

This program seeks to connect molecular-level materials design with functional electronic and environmental response.

Mechanistic Nanoscopy

Adaptive materials are often spatially heterogeneous, and many of the processes responsible for their behavior occur at nanometer length scales.

We therefore use nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy to determine where adaptive behavior originates, how it evolves, and how local transformations control macroscopic functionality.

Our approach includes scanning probe microscopy, near-field optical microscopy, nano-infrared spectroscopy, and spatially resolved electrical and structural characterization.

Mechanistic nanoscopy serves as the bridge between our oxide and hybrid-materials programs by revealing the local physical and chemical processes that govern adaptive behavior.

Discover. Understand. Adapt.