Twisted oxide heterostructures are artificial materials made by stacking two or more complex oxide thin layers on top of each other with a twist angle — meaning one layer is rotated relative to the other. This twist creates a moiré pattern at the interface — a repeating interference pattern that changes the local atomic arrangement and the electronic environment. This can dramatically alter the material’s properties and create novel functionalities useful for applications.

This Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) project aims to design, create, and understand novel electronic, magnetic, and structural phases emerging in free-standing oxide membranes assembled into twisted heterostructures. The research combines advanced characterization techniques with theoretical modeling and data analytics to accelerate the discovery and development of new materials with engineered properties.

The project leverages an iterative feedback loop between theory, synthesis, and characterization and involves the U.S.-Israel collaboration supported by Binational Science Foundation (BSF). Educational and outreach activities within this project are targeted at advancing workforce development through interdisciplinary training of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in integrated experimental and theoretical approaches to materials research.