Spintronics at Leeds

利兹的凝聚态物质小组发表了300多篇关于这个主题的论文，以其在自旋电子学方面的工作而闻名--自旋电子学的定义是利用电子的磁矩而不是电荷。最近，该组织任命了两名新成员，为我们带来了有机自旋电子学(Cespedes)和纳米磁学(Moore)方面的专业知识。因此，我们是首批开发分子自旋电子学高频设备的团队之一，以研究环保的微波器件。我们还在探索利用电场产生的应变进行开关磁化的方法--这对未来的存储应用非常重要。尽管我们在集团的所有成员之间都有联系，但这个平台提供了一个从战略上审视我们活动的绝佳机会。我们的广泛研究战略将关注自旋电子超材料的一般主题。超材料是人工的，因为功能特性不是构成构件的自然材料的特征，而是通过设计和工程材料组合而出现的。人工方面通常是通过纳米结构引入的。一个早期的例子出现在光学领域，其中亚波长特征产生了新的性质，如光子带隙晶体。磁性超材料是在自旋电子学的黎明时期出现的--一种由交替的磁性和非磁性金属组成的多层膜显示出巨大的磁阻。这些性质在计算和通信中得到了极大的利用。我们的目标是从普通的磁阻器件和自旋输运物理转移到微波纳米器件，在混合结构中操纵电子与声子、磁子和其他准粒子之间的相互作用。在我们公认的薄膜生长、表征和磁性传输优势的基础上，我们提出了一项工程材料组合计划，以产生富有成效的新特性--自旋电子超材料。我们的团队拥有广泛的背景，包括在纳米尺度上构建材料结构以便产生合作行为的能力，例如将超导体与Skyrmion自旋织构相结合，或将来自磁体的纯自旋电流注入有机物。我们将把这种能力应用于被确定为具有战略意义的领域的问题，如新技术的量子效应，超越cmos电子产品、节能电子产品和医疗保健的新工具。我们将以一种与传统响应模式研究项目截然不同的方式来追求这一点。我们已经确定了在科学和国家方面具有重要意义的领域，以及我们可以在学术和技术环境中产生影响的领域。我们不会具体说明将进行哪些实验，只说明可能进行的实验类型。我们将利用平台资助的灵活性，发展研究人员的独立性，使其超越正常拨款所能达到的水平。例如，目前关于热和磁邻近效应在自旋电流中的作用以及它们在非耗散、低功耗电子设备中的可能性存在争议。有了平台资金，我们可以派一名研究人员访问相关实验室并参加研讨会，然后他们就可以很好地建议最佳行动方案。研究人员将在充分支持必要资源的情况下领导这些实验--如果适当的话，包括并鼓励博士生和其他PDRA的贡献。这一一般性办法可适用于我们的整个平台方案，以处理外地出现的任何问题。这对职业生涯有促进作用，因为在研究的这个阶段，研究人员通常只有在是独立研究员的情况下才能获得这种程度的自主性。这一背景将为他们提供研究奖学金或行业或顶级机构的好职位，寻找具有主动性和远见卓识的个人。

With more than 300 papers published on the topic, the Condensed Matter group in Leeds is well known for its work on spintronics - a subject defined by the exploitation of the magnetic moment of electrons instead of charge. Recently the group has appointed two new members of staff bringing us expertise in organic spintronics (Cespedes) and nanomagnetism (Moore). Thus we are one of the first groups to develop high frequency equipment for molecular spintronics in order to research eco-friendly microwave devices. We are also exploring ways of switching magnetisation using the strain developed by an electric field - important for future storage applications. Although we have links among all members of the group, this Platform provides an excellent opportunity to take a strategic look at our activity.Our broad research strategy will concern the general theme of spintronic metamaterials. Metamaterials are artificial in that the functional properties are not a feature of the natural occurring materials that form the building blocks, but emerge through design and engineering of material combinations. The artificial aspect is often introduced through nanostructuring. An early example arises in optics where sub-wavelength features give rise to new properties such as photonic band-gap crystals. Magnetic metamaterials were at the dawn of spintronics - a multilayer composed of alternating magnetic and non-magnetic metals displays giant magnetoresistance. These properties have been exploited to great advantage in computing and communication. We aim to move from common magnetoresistive devices and spin transport physics into microwave nanodevices that manipulate the interactions between electrons with phonons, magnons and other quasiparticles in hybrid structures. Building on our recognised strengths of thin film growth, characterisation and magnetotransport we are proposing a programme of engineering materials in combinations that yield fruitful emergent properties - spintronic metamaterials. Our group has a broad background that includes the ability to structure materials at the nanoscale so that cooperative behaviour arises, e.g. combining superconductors with skyrmion spin textures, or injecting pure spin currents from magnets into organics. We will apply this capability to questions in areas identified as strategic such as quantum effects for new technology, beyond CMOS electronics, energy efficient electronics and new tools for healthcare.We shall pursue this in a way that is very different from a traditional responsive-mode research project. We have identified areas that are scientifically and nationally important and where we can make impact in both academic and technological settings. We will not specify exactly which experiments will be performed, only the type of experiment that is possible. We will use the flexibility of platform funding to develop the independence of researchers beyond that achievable in a normal grant. As an example, there is a controversy at present about the role of heat and magnetic proximity effects in spin currents and their possibilities in non-dissipative, low power consumption electronics. With platform funding we can send a researcher to visit the relevant labs and attend the workshops who would then be in a good position to recommend the best course of action. The researcher would lead those experiments with full support for necessary resources - including and encouraging, if appropriate, the contribution of PhD students and other PDRAs. This general approach can be applied across our whole platform programme to any emerging problems in the field. This is career-enhancing because researchers, at this stage of their research, can usually only gain this level of autonomy if they are independent Research Fellows. This background will fast track them for Research Fellowships or good positions in industry or top level institutions looking for individuals with initiative and vision.