Chaitanya
Panse
Materials Engineer
M.Tech candidate in Materials Engineering at IISc, working at the interface of thin-film characterization and machine learning — currently researching ferroelectric memcapacitors for neuromorphic computing.
Bengaluru, India
A memcapacitor stack — the material system this site is built around
About
I'm an M.Tech student in Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, working on ferroelectric HfO₂–ZrO₂ thin films for neuromorphic memcapacitor devices. My background spans experimental characterization, computational materials science, and applying machine learning to materials problems.
Before IISc, I worked in industry as a Metallography Analyst at Vedanta Aluminium, and I hold a B.Tech in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from VNIT Nagpur. I previously interned as an R&D Engineer at Eaton's EIIC Centre in Pune, and I serve as placement representative for my department at IISc.
- Degree
- M.Tech, Materials Engineering, IISc Bengaluru (2025–2027)
- Prior degree
- B.Tech, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, VNIT Nagpur
- Past internship
- R&D Engineer Intern, Eaton EIIC Centre, Pune
- Focus
- Thin-film characterization × materials informatics
- Also
- Placement Rep & Student Anchor, Dept. of Materials Engineering
Research
My current work centers on ferroelectric memcapacitors for neuromorphic computing — devices that mimic synaptic behavior using switchable polarization in ultrathin oxide films.
Featured research
HfO₂–ZrO₂ ferroelectric memcapacitors for neuromorphic computing
Investigating Hf₀.₂Zr₀.₈O₂ ferroelectric thin films in MFM and MFIS device architectures as memcapacitive elements for brain-inspired computing. The work spans device fabrication, electrical characterization, and structural analysis, feeding into a 12-month project plan.
Ferroelectricity in HZO arises from a metastable polar orthorhombic (Pca2₁) phase, stabilized against the more thermodynamically favored non-polar monoclinic phase by dopant concentration, film thickness, mechanical clamping from the electrodes, and oxygen vacancy distribution. Under an applied field, polarization reversal proceeds by nucleation of reversed-polarization domains and subsequent domain-wall motion rather than a uniform, instantaneous flip — a history-dependent process that makes the film's capacitance a function of its prior voltage trajectory, not just its instantaneous state. That's precisely what a memcapacitor needs: because domain configurations can be partially switched and pinned at intermediate states, a single device can hold a continuum of stable capacitance levels rather than a binary one, which is what makes it possible to emulate synaptic weight updates — STDP, LTP, and LTD — directly in the device physics instead of in software.
Methods: PUND switching measurements, C–V characterization, ALD film growth, GIXRD structural analysis, MFM/MFIS device architectures.
Illustrative C–V "butterfly" curve — asymmetric coercive peaks & off-centre crossing, as reported for HZO capacitors
P(t) = Ps [ 1 − exp( −(t / t0)n ) ]
Kolmogorov–Avrami–Ishibashi switching kinetics — the model used to fit how polarization P(t) grows toward saturation Ps as domains nucleate and grow under an applied field.
Interactive lab
Three small simulations of the physics behind my research. Poke them.
A synapse that remembers
Each voltage pulse nudges the device's capacitance. Potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) saturate, as in real devices, and the state settles into discrete levels.
Spike-timing-dependent plasticity
If the input spike arrives just before the output spike, the synapse strengthens; if it arrives after, it weakens. Drag the timing.
A memcapacitive crossbar computes in place
Click a V pad to apply a voltage to that row, and click any cell to change its capacitance state (0–3). Every column collects the charge Q = Σ C · V from its cells, so a whole matrix–vector product happens inside the memory array with no data shuttling.
Illustrative models of textbook device behavior, not measured data from my devices.
How the field got here
- 1971
Leon Chua argues that a memory-holding resistor, the memristor, is the missing fourth basic circuit element.
- 2008
HP Labs researchers report a working memristor built from thin TiO₂ films.
- 2009
Di Ventra, Pershin and Chua extend the idea to memcapacitors and meminductors.
- 2011
Ferroelectricity is reported in doped HfO₂ thin films (Böscke et al.), opening a CMOS-compatible route to ferroelectric devices.
- Now
HZO memcapacitors as analog synapses for neuromorphic hardware: the thread of my M.Tech research.
Projects
Project work from Vedanta Aluminium and VNIT Nagpur.
2025
AI-powered aluminium analysis & quality control
Worked on applying AI and deep learning to aluminium manufacturing analysis — automating defect detection (dross, porosity, shrinkage, inclusions) via computer vision, and enabling real-time chemical composition tracking to move beyond manual inspection and fracture studies.
Vedanta Limited — Aluminium Business · Material characterization, computer vision2025
Mitigating the orange peel effect in 3003 aluminium
Studied a surface roughness defect in extruded 3003 aluminium tubes using optical microscopy — examining grain size variation and dispersoid distribution to correlate microstructure with surface finish, and identifying the metallurgical causes behind the defect.
Vedanta Limited — Aluminium Business · Extrusion, defect monitoring2024
Dispersoid revealment & microstructural characterization
An in-depth metallographic study of dispersoid structures (primarily FeAl₃ intermetallics) in 3003 series aluminium billets, examining how their size, distribution, and morphology influence mechanical properties and thermal stability during homogenization.
Vedanta Limited — Aluminium Business · SEM-EDX, optical microscopy2024
Process optimization of TiB₂ additions in billet casting
Optimized TiB₂ (titanium diboride) grain refiner usage in aluminium billet casting, achieving up to a 60% reduction in consumption across billet diameters and alloy grades without compromising microstructural quality or performance.
Vedanta Limited — Aluminium Business · Grain structure analysis, optical microscopy2022–23
Modelling of dendritic solidification
Modelled dendritic solidification in Al-Cu alloys using the phase-field method, finite element analysis, and the Stefan problem to predict dendrite morphology, and studied how temperature gradient, growth velocity, and solidification time influence dendrite spacing.
VNIT Nagpur · Phase-field modelling, finite element analysisExperience
R&D Engineer Intern
Contributed to R&D work at Eaton's Innovation Centre, applying a materials engineering lens to applied product-development problems.
Placement Representative & Student Anchor
Lead campus placement outreach — built pitch materials and mapped department competencies to open roles at companies including GE Aerospace (EEDP) and Lam Research, and helped build a multi-sector company directory for department-wide recruiting.
Assistant Manager — Metallography Analyst
Led metallographic analysis in an industrial aluminium production setting, bridging shop-floor materials issues with analytical characterization.
Skills & Methods
Across experimental and computational materials science.
Characterization
- GIXRD
- EBSD
- Optical microscopy
- SEM-EDS
- PUND & C–V measurement
- PFM & EFM
- STDP, LTP & LTD (synaptic plasticity)
- Multistate measurement
- ALD
Computational & applied
- Computational materials science
- Materials informatics
- Machine learning
- DFT
- Finite Element Method (FEM)
- CALPHAD
- ThermoCalc
Get in touch
Open to conversations on materials characterization, neuromorphic devices, and materials × ML — feel free to reach out.
Moments
Department life at IISc, industry visits, and the odd fog-covered hike.
