Experimental Condensed Matter Physics

Research Summary
Xiaoxing Xi’s research focuses on the materials physics underlying the applications of oxide, boride, and transition metal dichalcogenide thin films, in particular epitaxial thin films and heterostructures at the nanoscale. Using various deposition techniques including Laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Hybrid Physical-Chemical Vapor Deposition, his group specializes in atomic layer-by-layer growth of artificial oxide heterostructures, magnesium diboride thin films for electronic and radio frequency cavity applications, iron pnictide superconductor thin films, and thin films of 2D layered materials transition metal dichalcogenides. He has published over 350 papers in refereed journals and holds three patents in the area of thin films of high-Tc superconductors and magnesium diboride. Since 2015, he has spoken out actively for open fundamental research and against racial profiling and received the American Physical Society 2020 Andrei Sakharov Prize for his effort.

Education
Ph.D., Physics, Peking University and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1987
B.Sc., Physics, Peking University, 1982

Selected Publications

  • Ke Chen and Xiaoxing Xi, MgB2 Coating by HPCVD for 1.3-GHz Superconducting RF Cavities, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 34, 3500405 (2024).
  • Weibing Yang, Leila Kasaei, Hussein Hijazi, Sylvie Rangan, Yao-wen Yeh, Raj K. Sah, Jay R. Paudel, Ke Chen, Alexander X. Gray, Philip Batson, Leonard C. Feldman, and Xiaoxing Xi, Ultrathin epitaxial MgB2 on SiC: Substrate surface-polarity-dependent properties, Phys. Rev. Materials 7, 014803 (2023).
  • Xiaoxing Xi, The US should listen to scientists about how to counter influence from China, Nat. Rev. Phys. 3, 384 (2021).
  • M. Golalikhani, Q. Lei, R. U. Chandrasena, L. Kasaei, H. Park, J. Bai, P. Orgiani, J. Ciston, G. E. Sterbinsky, D. A. Arena, P. Shafer, E. Arenholz, B. A. Davidson, A. J. Millis, A. X. Gray, and X. X. Xi, Nature of the metal-insulator transition in few-unit-cell- thick LaNiO3 films, Nature Commun. 9, 2206 (2018).
  • Qingyu Lei, Maryam Golalikhani, Bruce A. Davidson, Guozhen Liu, Darrell G. Schlom, Qiao Qiao, Yimei Zhu, Ravini U. Chandrasena, Weibing Yang, Alexander X. Gray, Elke Arenholz, Andrew K. Farrar, Dmitri A. Tenne, Minhui Hu, Jiandong Guo, Rakesh K Singh, X. X. Xi, Constructing oxide interfaces and heterostructures by atomic layer-by-layer laser molecular beam epitaxy, npj Quant. Mater. 2, 10 (2017).

Awards

  • Unity & Resilience Award, Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA), 2023.
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2021.
  • Andrei Sakharov Prize, American Physical Society, 2020.
  • Fellow, American Physical Society, 2007.
  • Career Award, National Science Foundation, June 1997.