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Magnetic Insulators: An Enabling Platform for Innovative Spintronic Concepts

Project description

Magnetic insulators could be the substrate of new spintronics devices

Spintronics, or spin electronics, is a rapidly emerging research area that has the potential to significantly enhance speed and memory, while decreasing power consumption, in the next generation of nanoelectronic devices. It is focused on the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment in addition to its electric charge. The majority of spintronics concepts rely on magnetic conductors, materials that have some sort of magnetic order and are electrically conducting. The latter makes it simpler to induce and measure spintronics effects. The EU-funded MAGNEPIC project plans to demonstrate the potential of magnetic insulators for spintronics devices by developing novel electrical means to control magnetisation.

Objective

New approaches to write, read, and process data are required in order to improve the sustainability of computer technologies. Spintronics offers attractive solutions to these problems. Today, however, the majority of spintronic devices and research efforts rely on a limited set of materials, mostly magnetic conductors. Here I propose to challenge this conventional approach and place magnetic insulators at the core of spintronics by exploiting their advantages over conducting magnets.
Magnetic conductors are ubiquitous in spintronics due to their ability to generate and detect spin currents by electrical means. However, we now know that nonmagnetic materials with large spin-orbit coupling can efficiently convert charge currents into spin currents with de-coupled directions. This key feature enables spin current injection into virtually any material, including magnetic insulators where charge currents cannot propagate but spin currents can.
The aim of this project is to bridge the long-established knowledge on magnetic insulators with today’s expertise on spintronics and measurement techniques. I will exploit the highly tunable properties of magnetic insulators to achieve efficient magnetization control by electrical means in various schemes.
First, I will optimize the current-induced spin-orbit torque control of magnetization in magnetic insulators, a widely used methods in ferromagnetic conductors, but little explored in the context of insulators.
Second, I will devise a new electrical method to induce localized spin-flop transitions and harness the magnonic spin currents generated in this process.
Third, I will explore the possibilities of dynamically controlling the magnetic properties of insulators by proximity coupling and electric gating.
Overall, MAGNEPIC will provide breakthrough knowledge of magnetic insulators for spintronics and demonstrate fast, energy-efficient, and innovative device concepts for magnetic data manipulation beyond the state-of-the art.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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ERC-STG - Starting Grant

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2020-STG

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Host institution

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 916 585,00
Address
CALLE SERRANO 117
28006 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 916 585,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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