Modeling of magnetoelectric effect for advanced spintronic applications

Modeling of magnetoelectric effect for advanced spintronic applications

Leuven More than two weeks ago

Evaluate the magnetoelectric coupling to magnetic textures for low-power spintronic devices

Spintronics is a novel field of electronicsthat uses the spin of electrons or the magnetization of thin films instead ofcharge in memory or logic computation devices.

A key issue of spintronics isthe energy-efficient control of the magnetization in such devices. Currentdevice concepts are often based on the control of the magnetization bycurrents, for example via generated magnetic fields or recently discoveredeffects, such as spin-transfer torque or spin-orbit torque.

However, suchtechniques are typically not very energy-efficient and it would be very desirableto control the magnetization by electric fields instead.

In principle, this canbe done by the magnetoelectric effect, which couples electric fields to themagnetization. This effect is currently strongly considered to be included infuture generations of low-power spintronic devices.

Magnetoelectric effectsnaturally occur in multiferroic materials but much stronger strain-inducedmagnetoelectric coupling can be observed in composite materials consisting ofpiezoelectric and magnetostrictive materials.

The application in spintronicdevices requires a detailed understanding of the geometry (e.g. the relativedirections of the electric field and the magnetization) as well as thermalfluctuations on the magnetization dynamics.

In this thesis, the student willperform micromagnetic simulations to study the magnetoelectric coupling indifferent geometries and different material systems.

The goal of the thesis isto develop efficient strategies to excite, control, and detect magnetizationdynamics (including magnetization switching, interaction with magnetic domainwalls and spin waves) by the magnetoelectric effect and transfer them to amagnetic waveguide.

The work will be in close collaboration withexperimentalists working on integration of magnetoelectrics into spintronicdevices for exploratory logic.

Type of project : Thesis, Internship, Combination of internship and thesis

6 Months

Required degree : Master of Science

Required background : Physics, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

Supervising scientist(s) : For further information or for application, please contact : Christoph Adelmann () and Florin Ciubotaru ()