Ph.D. Studentships: Superconductivity

Fully funded 3.5 or 4 year Ph.D. studentships are available with flexible start dates. For details see:

http://community.dur.ac.uk/superconductivity.durham/vacancies.html

Using muons to investigate low-dimensional magnetism

In some magnetic materials interactions between the moments are constrained to act along one-dimensional lines or in two dimensional planes. The physics of these systems is very different to their three-dimensional counterparts and features exotic states and excitations, including unusual forms of quantum disorder, and topological excitations such as magnetic solitons and skyrmions.

Many examples of these materials can be produced using molecular building blocks so that the interactions between the magnetic units can be adjusted and tuned. In this project we will investigate the physics of low-dimensional magnets using implanted muons, which are sensitive, microscopic magnetometers that can be produced at particle accelerators and implanted in materials.

Muons are uniquely sensitive to the low-moment magnetism in these systems and can be used to probe magnetic transitions and dynamics. The muon can also form quantum-mechanically entangled states with its surroundings whose properties, which can be accurately calculated, are of fundamental interest.

For further information, please contact Prof. Tom Lancaster (tom.lancaster@durham.ac.uk), or the Senior Postgraduate Research Administrator (physics.postgraduate@durham.ac.uk).

Understanding and Controlling Spin Current Transport for Spintronics Applications

Spintronics is a critical technology for magnetic information storage including the hard-disk drive, that underpins cloud computing, and magnetic random access memory, MRAM, that has wider electronic memory applications. Spintronics describes the broad range of physics interactions between the spin component of electronic currents and the magnetization in multilayered thin-film systems. This experimental project aims to investigate the physics needed to effectively control spin current transport for the development of more energy efficient applications in spintronics. One aim is to combine metallic and semiconducting thin films.

For information, please contact Professor Del Atkinson: del.atkinson@durham.ac.uk