P4 Nanomagnetism for Information and Communication Technologies
About the Programme
The scientific activity of the Nanomagnetism Programme is at the forefront of both fundamental and applied research on magnetic nanostructures, dealing with the preparation and characterization of advanced multifunctional magnetic nanomaterials with enormous impact for our society, including sensing & information storage (spintronic & spin-orbitronic), energy production & conversion (permanent magnets), and biomedical (magnetic nanoparticles) applications. The programme addresses important and interrelated societal challenges: a) Reducing energy consumption by exploiting spin-orbitronic systems in the information era; b) Developing efficient, spintronic-based, hardware brains, or neuro-inspired circuits; c) Developing efficient, magnetic-based, devices for bioapplications. This programme is in close collaboration with research programmes P2, P3, and P6.
We are equipped with a powerful battery of techniques that enable the investigation of many properties of multifunctional magnetic nanostructures, including both inorganic and organic materials, grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) or sputtering in ultra-high vacuum environment, as well as by chemical synthesis routes. These are ultrathin films, superlattices, or nanoparticles and their properties are characterized by morphological, chemical, structural, electronic, transport, and (mostly optic-based) advanced vectorial magnetometry techniques. Particular emphasis is paid to the growth, the magnetization reversal processes (in both quasi-static and dynamic regimes), their magnetoresistance responses, and their spin-resolved band structures (spin ARPES). Additionally, external large scale experimental facilities (i.e., synchrotron, neutron, or ion-accelerator sources) are often used to elucidate some fundamental aspects.
We aim at a better understanding of fabrication processes and physical properties of new materials and functionalities as a first step towards the development of devices with custom- chosen properties, with potential for sensing, information storage, energy, and biomedical technologies.
Programme Manager: Dr. Paolo Perna