Nature Materials published the paper Enhanced superconductivity and ferroelectric quantum criticality in plastically deformed strontium titanate. One of the corresponding authors of the paper is Assistant Professor Damjan Pelc, PhD, from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Principal Investigator of project UIP-2020-02-9494 “Collective excitations and local structure in unconventional superconductors”.

In this paper, scientists from the University of Zagreb, together with partners from USA, Israel and China, for the first time ever, extend the plastic deformation approach to the realm of quantum materials by applying it to the prominent oxide strontium titanate. The study demonstrates the promise of plastic deformation and dislocation engineering as tools to manipulate the electronic properties of quantum materials. It also showcases the power of a synergistic scientific approach to the study of quantum materials that involves multiple experimental probes and theoretical insight.