Chiral spin structures in antiferromagnet-ferromagnet bilayers

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Chiral twists in atomic magnetic structure are seen in ferromagnets at the interface with heavy metals such as Pt and Ir, leading to topologically stable magnetic domains known as skyrmions. Such chiral magnetic objects have potential applications in magnetic memory and sensor technology. Mn-based antiferromagnets also contain heavy elements (e.g. Pt, Ir), and this project will investigate chiral magnetic structure at the interface between such antiferromagnets and a ferromagnetic layer. The reason for using antiferromagnets is that they provide an exchange bias at the interface with a ferromagnet that might help to stabilise skyrmions, as well as a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction that induces the chirality (R.A. Khan et al., Phys. Rev. B 98, 064413 (2018)). A current flowing through the antiferromagnet may also provide a spin torque to push the skyrmion through the ferromagnet, which would be of great fundamental and technological interest.This is a joint project between the University of Leeds and the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. Single crystal antiferromagnet-ferromagnet layers will be deposited and undergo structural and magnetic characterisation, both in-house and at large-scale synchrotron facilities. We are looking for a motivated student with a background in condensed matter physics, materials science or similar, preferably with experience in magnetism or thin film properties. The Condensed Matter group at the University of Leeds is one of the U.K.'s leading research groups in nanomagnetism and spintronics. It possesses an extensive suite of facilities for materials growth, nanoscale fabrication and sample characterisation. In the 2011 CHE & 2017 Shanghai rankings the physics department at the University of Mainz was selected for the excellence group in Europe and recently was ranked first by the German Research Foundation 2018 ranking of all Physics Departments in Germany. It is particularly strong in the area of condensed matter physics and houses the Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz (www.mainz.uni-mainz.de).