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Introduction
Theoxides,especiallythemultinarytransitionmetaloxides,areaveryim-
portantclassofinorganicmaterialsbeingenormouslyinterestingforbasic
researchinsolid-statephysics,surfacephysics,defectchemistry,electro-
chemistry,andcatalysis,tomentionafew.Moreover,therangeofapplica-
tionsforthesematerialsisalsoverybroad.Itrangesfromnano-electronics
asthemaincomponentofresistiveswitchingdevicesinneuronalnetworks,
micro-electro-mechanicalsystemscalledMEMS,andultrasonictransduc-
erswithoutputsofmanykilowattstocatalysisinindustrialprocesses.The
versatilityofABO
3oxides,whichareofperovskitestructure,whereAis
alkalioralkalineearthions,consistsmainlyinthemodificationoftheir
physicalandchemicalpropertiesbychangingthevalenceoftransitionmet-
alionsBinthecenterofoxygenoctahedronBO
6.Usingexternalstimuli
likethevoltage,currentflow,mechanicstresses,magneticfields,oxygen
activities,annealing,irradiationswithphotons,bombardingwithions,and
dopingwithisovalentoralliovalentionscanmodifytheelectronicstruc-
tureandlatticedynamics.Anotherfascinatingpropertyofthesemultinary
oxidesisso-calledself-doping,inwhichachangeinoxygenstoichiometry
canbeinducedundersuitablephysicalorchemicalconditionsofthereduc-
tionprocess.Thisprocesspermitseasyincorporationofoxygenvacancies
asaresultoftheefusionofoxygenionsduringthisprocess.Inthisway,
about50yearsago,thesuperconductingpropertieswere,forthefirsttime,
inducedinternaryoxidesSrTiO
3,whichistreatedasamodelperovskite
beinginstoichiometricstatebandaninsulatorwithE
g>3.2eV
.Forallthis,
wedecidedtowritethisbook.
Itwouldbeanillusiontoclaimthatthisisarepresentativebookinso
quicklydevelopingfieldofoxides.Oftenabookof500-600pagesde-
scribespropertiesofoneoxideonly.Therefore,thestrategyofthisbook
isquitediferent.Thebookisaimedatfindingacommondenominatorfor
propertiesofmultinary,yetveryfunctional,metaloxides.Amongothers
isswitching,themaintopicofthisbook,whichisgeneralizedasatailored
manipulationonselectivematerialsproperties.Ourintentionisnotonlyto
linkswitchingtotheinfluenceofdiferentmacroscopicstimulionferroic
orderparametersasspontaneouspolarization,spontaneousstrainormag-
netization,buttoshowthatswitchingoriginatesinthenanoscaleandcanbe