About

Jon-Paul Maria is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, holding the Dorothy Pate Enright Professorship. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Penn State in Ceramic Science. Prior to his current appointment, he spent 15 years on the faculty at North Carolina State University, where he was a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. His research group, the J.-P. Maria Group, focuses on new materials discovery, property engineering, advances in synthesis science, and integration strategies for diverse materials. Laboratory activities include physical vapor deposition, ceramic synthesis by powder processing, structural characterization by diffraction, and microstructure measurement using scanning probe and electron microscopy. The group manages a 1,500 square foot vacuum processing lab equipped with sputter tools, e-beam evaporation, and laser ablation systems. Their research areas encompass ferroelectric thin films, high permittivity materials, novel semiconductor contacts, oxide epitaxy, infra-red plasmonic materials, and entropy-engineered crystals. With collaboration, the group has published over 240 papers on structure-property-processing relationships in electronic materials. In 2016, he co-founded Third Floor Materials, a startup developing novel IR sensor materials and technologies. His research emphasizes processing science issues related to synthesizing integrated systems for microwave communication, telemetry, and radar systems, aiming to replace costly or difficult-to-manufacture materials with affordable alternatives without compromising performance.

Research topics

• Nanotechnology
• Materials science
• Composite material
• Optoelectronics
• Chemistry
• Optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Atomic physics
• Geometry
• Physics
• Mathematics
• Molecular physics
• Thermodynamics
• Geology
• Metallurgy

Selected publications

• A Software Package for Generating Robust and Accurate Potentials using the Moment Tensor Potential Framework

  ArXiv.org · 2025-12-13

  preprintOpen access

  We present the Plan for Robust and Accurate Potentials (PRAPs), a software package for training and using moment tensor potentials (MTPs) in concert with the Machine Learned Interatomic Potentials (MLIP) software package. PRAPs provides an automated workflow to train MTPs using active learning procedures, and a variety of utilities to ease and improve workflows when utilizing the MLIP software. PRAPs was originally developed in the context of crystal structure prediction, in which one calculates convex hulls and predicts low energy metastable and thermodynamically stable structures, but the potentials PRAPs develops are not limited to such applications. PRAPs produces two potentials, one capable of rough estimates of the energies, forces and stresses of almost any chemical structure in the specified compositional space -- the Robust Potential -- and a second potential intended to provide more accurate descriptions of ground state and metastable structures -- the Accurate Potential. We also present a Python library, mliputils, designed to assist users in working with the chemical structural files used by the MLIP package.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Processing-dependent chemical ordering in Cu3Au characterized via non-destructive Bragg coherent diffraction imaging

  Scripta Materialia · 2025-06-17

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Thickness scaling and ferroelectric switching in wurtzite structure zinc magnesium oxide thin films

  Applied Physics Letters · 2025-12-08 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  This study reports the thickness scaling of sputtered ferroelectric Zn0.61Mg0.39O (ZMO) thin films down to 43 nm. Encapsulated IrO2/ZMO/Ir capacitors exhibited switchable polarizations exceeding 50 μC cm−2 and coercive fields that increased from 3.9 to 4.4 MV cm−1 as the thickness decreased. Switching kinetics are best described by the simultaneous non-linear nucleation and the growth model. Bimodal switching is prevalent at low thicknesses, with the fastest switching times measured to be approximately 400 ns. Device encapsulation made ZMO switching kinetics more abrupt, potentially due to changes in the concentration of atmosphere-induced defects such as hydroxides. These results demonstrate stable ferroelectricity and sub-microsecond switching in sub-50 nm wurtzite ZMO, highlighting its potential as a low-voltage ferroelectric for integrated nonvolatile memory applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Domain Nucleation and Growth in an Epitaxially Grown Wurtzite Ferroelectric

  Advanced Functional Materials · 2025-08-08

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Ferroelectric domain nucleation and growth in epitaxial (Al, B, Sc)N films grown on n‐GaN substrates are explored using a combination of ferroelectric property measurements and scanning transmission electron microscopy, including novel in situ switching studies. The films are electrically switched to nitrogen‐polar (N‐polar) and metal‐polar (M‐polar) configurations, attaining a remanent polarization of 120 µC cm − 2 with coercive fields of ≈6 MV cm −1 . In the initial switching cycle, the ferroelectric domains nucleate near the bottom n‐GaN electrode and develop domain walls with zigzag morphologies, while residual “dead layers” that do not switch from the as‐deposited orientation persist at the top and bottom electrodes. The in situ microscopy experiments reveal that domain walls propagate fastest in the lateral direction, parallel to the electrode/film interface. These findings provide insights into the domain dynamics and structural evolution of wurtzite ferroelectrics, offering implications for next‐generation electronic devices.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Multivalency in Zr6Nb2O17

  Scripta Materialia · 2025-10-01 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Quantitative nonlinear optical polarimetry with high spatial resolution: erratum

  Optica · 2025-10-21

  articleOpen access

  This erratum corrects the labelling of figures showing second harmonic generation polarimetry curves from different ferroelectric material domains in BaTiO 3 in our published work [ Optica 12 , 1153 ( 2025 ) 10.1364/OPTICA.559060 ]. This also results in a correction to the direction of ferroelectric polarization vectors indicated on an associated figure.

  PublisherDOI

• Thermodynamic Theory of Proximity Ferroelectricity

  Physical Review X · 2025-05-19 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  Proximity ferroelectricity has recently been reported as a new design paradigm for inducing ferroelectricity, where a nonferroelectric polar material becomes a ferroelectric one by interfacing with a thin ferroelectric layer. Strongly polar materials, such as AlN and ZnO, which were previously unswitchable with an external field below their dielectric breakdown fields, can now be switched with practical coercive fields when they are in intimate proximity to a switchable ferroelectric. Here, we develop a general Landau-Ginzburg theory of proximity ferroelectricity in multilayers of nonferroelectrics and ferroelectrics to analyze their switchability and coercive fields. The theory predicts regimes of both “proximity switching,” where the multilayers collectively switch, and “proximity suppression,” where they collectively do not switch. The mechanism of the proximity ferroelectricity is an internal electric field determined by the polarization of the layers and their relative thickness in a self-consistent manner that renormalizes the double-well ferroelectric potential to lower the steepness of the switching barrier. Further reduction in the coercive field emerges from charged defects in the bulk that act as nucleation centers. The application of the theory to proximity ferroelectricity in <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><a:mrow><a:msub><a:mrow><a:mi>Al</a:mi></a:mrow><a:mrow><a:mi mathvariant="normal">x</a:mi><a:mtext>−</a:mtext><a:mn>1</a:mn></a:mrow></a:msub><a:msub><a:mrow><a:mi>Sc</a:mi></a:mrow><a:mrow><a:mi mathvariant="normal">x</a:mi></a:mrow></a:msub><a:mi mathvariant="normal">N</a:mi><a:mo>/</a:mo><a:mi>AlN</a:mi></a:mrow></a:math> and <f:math xmlns:f="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><f:mrow><f:msub><f:mrow><f:mi>Zn</f:mi></f:mrow><f:mrow><f:mn>1</f:mn><f:mtext>−</f:mtext><f:mi mathvariant="normal">x</f:mi></f:mrow></f:msub><f:msub><f:mrow><f:mi>Mg</f:mi></f:mrow><f:mrow><f:mi mathvariant="normal">x</f:mi></f:mrow></f:msub><f:mi mathvariant="normal">O</f:mi><f:mo>/</f:mo><f:mi>ZnO</f:mi></f:mrow></f:math> bilayers is demonstrated. The theory further predicts that dielectric-ferroelectric and paraelectric-ferroelectric multilayers can potentially lead to induced ferroelectricity in the dielectric or paraelectric layers, resulting in the entire stack being switched, an exciting avenue for new discoveries. This thawing of “frozen ferroelectrics,” paraelectrics, and potentially dielectrics with high dielectric constants promises a large class of new ferroelectrics with exciting prospects for previously unrealizable domain-patterned optoelectronic and memory technologies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Resolving Structural Transitions in Lanthanide High-Entropy Oxides

  ArXiv.org · 2025-12-03

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  We report a temperature-composition phase diagram for the chemically disordered and CeO2-LA2O3 high entropy oxides (HEOs), where LA denotes equimolar Y, La, Sm, and Pr, delineating stability regions for bixbyite, disordered fluorite, and intermediate vacancy-ordered fluorite phases. The diagram is constructed from a characterization package applied to bulk ceramics including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, to quantify crystal structure at multiple length-scales, local coordination environments, and electronic structures across the formulation space. This comprehensive measurement suite is critical to identify boundaries between the closely related phases. For example, Raman scattering reveals local structural and defect environments unique to bixbyite local order that persist to ~50% Ce under equilibrium synthesis conditions but are invisible to XRD and TEM. We also report a companion thin film study to demonstrate that quenched kinetic energy from a physical deposition process can metastabilize the high symmetry, and thus high entropy, fluorite phase with only 20% Ce. This is noteworthy because electroneutrality constraints demand an exceptionally vacated oxygen sublattice; we estimate 16.7%, approaching that of delta-Bi2O3. Together, our equilibrium ceramics and far-from-equilibrium thin films show that when synthesis is coupled with rigorously chosen, multi-length-scale characterization, now one can identify the phase stability thermodynamic drivers and simultaneously derive practical guidelines for experimentally realizing targeted phases and structures - and thereby deliberately engineer properties in CeO2-LA2O3 HEOs, whose broad defect chemistries demand such an approach.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Growth of wurtzite ferroelectrics

  MRS Bulletin · 2025-10-07 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Thin films with wurtzite crystal structure feature some of the best compatibility with the major semiconductor platforms among ferroelectrics, as well as high remanent polarization, excellent stability, and scalability; making them very attractive for microelectronics applications ranging from memories to sensors and actuators. Their intrinsic functionality, which enables these applications directly links device performance to the underlying growth processes. This article gives an overview of the three main deposition methods for the material class (sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy, metal–organic chemical vapor deposition), their individual advantages as well as how they can contribute to solving the main challenges that remain to be overcome in order to bring wurtzite ferroelectrics to large-scale applications. Furthermore, it differentiates the growth of wurtzite ferroelectrics from that of more established thin-film ferroelectrics. Graphical Abstract

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Thermodynamics-inspired high-entropy oxide synthesis

  Nature Communications · 2025-09-02 · 22 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  High-entropy oxide (HEO) thermodynamics transcend temperature-centric approaches, spanning a multidimensional landscape where oxygen chemical potential plays a decisive role. Here, we experimentally demonstrate how controlling the oxygen chemical potential coerces multivalent cations into divalent states in rock salt HEOs. We construct a preferred valence phase diagram based on thermodynamic stability and equilibrium analysis, alongside a high throughput enthalpic stability map derived from atomistic calculations leveraging machine learning interatomic potentials. We identify and synthesize seven equimolar, single-phase rock salt compositions incorporating Mn, Fe, or both, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and fluorescence. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirms homogeneous cation distribution, whereas X-ray absorption fine structure analysis reveals predominantly divalent Mn and Fe states, despite their inherent multivalent tendencies. Ultimately, we introduce oxygen chemical potential overlap as a key complementary descriptor for predicting HEO stability and synthesizability. Although we focus on rock salt HEOs, our methods are chemically and structurally agnostic, providing a broadly adaptable framework for navigating HEOs thermodynamics and enabling a broader compositional range with contemporary property interest.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Entropy stabilized complex oxides

  NSF · $552k · 2016–2018

• Materials World Network: Science of Polar Homo- and Heterointerfaces

  NSF · $600k · 2011–2016

• Emergent Phenomena at Flat Interfaces between Nitrides and Oxides

  NSF · $468k · 2015–2019

• Entropy stabilized complex oxides

  NSF · $435k · 2018–2022

• CAREER: Structure Property Relationships in BiFeO3: A Defect Chemistry Approach

  NSF · $400k · 2006–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Angus I. Kingon

  Providence College

  72 shared

• Christina M. Rost

  59 shared

• Susan Trolier‐McKinstry

  Pennsylvania State University

  55 shared

• Patrick E. Hopkins

  University of Virginia

  53 shared

• Jon F. Ihlefeld

  University of Virginia

  48 shared

• Evan L. Runnerstrom

  United States Army Research Office

  44 shared

• Kyle P. Kelley

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  35 shared

• Angela Cleri

  Pennsylvania State University

  34 shared

Education

• Postdoctoral Researcher, Materials Science and Engineering

  North Carolina State University

  2002

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  Pennsylvania State University

  1998

• Master of Science, Materials Science and Engineering

  Pennsylvania State University

  1996

• Bachelor of Science, Ceramic Science and Engineering

  Pennsylvania State University

  1994

Awards & honors

• Taylor Lecture
• Tressler Lecture
• McFarland Award