Flexoelectricity is an emerging topic in condensed matter physics; whereby an inhomogeneous strain field lifts the inversion symmetry inside a material. As a result, an electrical polarization proportional to strain gradients is developed. This allows for controlling phenomena, such as the metal-to-insulator transition, quantum tunneling, and photovoltaic effect. Besides, breaking the inversion symmetry, on demand, provides a unique opportunity to explore emergent phenomena, which are otherwise symmetry-forbidden. Click here for an in-depth review on this topic.

Modern semiconductor electronics, which operate via regulating electrical currents or charge flow, dissipates energy via Joule heating. As we are transiting towards a data-driven smart society, new energy-efficient computing and data storage modalities have become a necessity. To this end, spintronics, which aims to utilize the spin current alongside the charge current, offers a promising solution, as the spin current (flow of spin angular momentum) does not generate heat. Conventionally heavy metal systems displaying the Spin Hall and Rashba Edelstein effects are used for generating spin current from charge current. Using oxide quantum materials containing heavy elements, we aim to study charge-spin interconversion, and develop a deeper understanding of  the underlying physics.