Project description
Using powerful terahertz light to accelerate magnetic data switching
Data centres are facing a sustainability crisis as the computational power required for modern digital infrastructure consumes staggering amounts of electricity. Standard computer memory consumes energy because moving or flipping magnetic data bits generates substantial heat. While multiferroic materials could theoretically switch magnetic states using very low electric fields, at ultrafast speeds the material’s internal atomic vibrations spin out of control, causing massive efficiency losses. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UPSHIFT project will use powerful terahertz laser pulses to intentionally shake the material’s atomic structure. This approach will induce controlled, non-thermal lattice deformation, allowing the steering of spin-phonon couplings at sub-picosecond timescales. UPSHIFT will seamlessly guide energy flows to achieve ultrafast data switching with almost no power loss.
Objective
Manipulating the magnetic state of media with minimal energy and in the shortest possible time is a fundamental challenge in physics, as faster switching typically requires higher energy. The challenge is increasingly urgent, as the rapid rise of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence has surged the energy demand of data centers, making them a significant source of global carbon emissions. To enable a sustainable digital future, we need computing devices that operate in less than a trillionth of a second while consuming below a femtojoule per bit.
Controlling magnetization with electric fields in multiferroic materials, at energy costs in the attojoule range, offers a promising route. However, under ultrafast operation, the energy exchange between spins, electric polarization, and phonons undergoes dramatic changes. The lack of effective control strategies leads to heat losses and limits switching efficiency.
UPSHIFT aims to establish new principles and benchmarks for ultrafast, energy-efficient switching of multiferroics. I will use intense THz electric fields (MV-GV/cm) to coherently excite lattice vibrations at selected phonon frequencies in model multiferroics (BiFeO₃ and NiI2). This approach will induce controlled, non-thermal lattice deformation, allowing for the steering of spin-phonon couplings at sub-picosecond timescales. Using a second excitation pulse, I will map the regulation of the energy flow among the spin, lattice, and electronic subsystems and quantify its impact on switching dynamics, threshold energy, and speed. Studying materials with contrasting coupling regimes and dimensionalities will uncover both universal principles and material-specific pathways for ultrafast, low-energy switching. The proposal will benefit from the unique HFML-FELIX facility and tabletop femtosecond laser sources available at Radboud University, enabling the establishment of new benchmarks for next-generation, energy-efficient devices.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences internet
- natural sciences physical sciences atomic physics
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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6525 XZ Nijmegen
Netherlands
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