Ferromagnetism has been a bedrock of technological development throughout the information technology era, with audio, video, and data recording at various times each involving the manipulation of ferromagnetic domains. Spintronics similarly owes its origins to the control, exploitation, and application of ferromagnetism. Yet ferromagnets are a less common form of magnetic material than their antiferromagnetic “siblings” -- antiferromagnetism is more prevalent but its application has been stymied by the much lower sensitivity of antiferromagnetic domains to external fields.

There has, however, been an exceptionally rapid growth in interest in the study and application of antoferromagnetism over the last few years, driven largely by the development of methods to control and interrogate antiferromagnetic domains via electrical currents.

This studentship will build on previous world-leading reseach by teams at the University of Nottingham and Diamond Light Source. This has exploited synchrotron radiation in combination with photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) to probe the structure and dynamics of antiferromagnetic domains in CuMnAs down to a resolution of ~ 100 nm [see, for example, 1-3]. A new abberation-corrected PEEM to be installed on Beamline I06 before the start of the studentship will enable a dramatic improvement in spatial resolution.

The PEEM measurements will be complemented by ultrahigh resolution and spin-sensitive scanning probe imaging and spectroscopy, enabling not just atomic, but single spin, resolution using a new high magnetic field (up to 9T out of plane, at temperatures down to 400 mK) scanning tunnelling/atomic force microscope system at the University of Nottingham.

This PhD position is jointly funded by the Diamond Light Source and the University of Nottingham. The successful applicant will spend 50% of their time at each partner institution. 

The School of Physics & Astronomy at UoN and Diamond Light Source Ltd hold an Athena SWAN Silver and Bronze Award, respectively, demonstrating both institutions' commitment to providing equal opportunities and to advancing the representation of women in STEM/M subjects: science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. More information on Nottingham's commitment to equality and diversity can be found here.

[1] P. Wadley et al., Science 351 587 (2016)

[2] J. Zelenzy et al, Nature Phys. 14, 220 (2018)

[3] MJ Grzybowski et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118 057701 (2017)