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Lecture

Nanosciences: Giant Magnetoresistance

In course

PHYS-407: Frontiers in nanosciences

The course covers relevant experimental and theoretical concepts in nanoscale science, from fundamental aspects like quantum tunneling and quantum size effects, to hot topics like quantum transport and nanoscale magnetism. ...

Description

This lecture covers the concepts of Giant Magnetoresistance and Tunnelling Magnetoresistance in the context of spintronics, focusing on information storage technologies such as HDD hard disk drives, high-density magnetic storage, and memory types like DRAM and MRAM. The presentation also delves into the advantages of spintronics over traditional electronics, particularly in terms of power consumption and memory retention.

Instructors (4)

Stefano Rusponi

Education: • 1999 Doctoral degree in Physics obtained at the Physics Department, University of Genova PhD thesis title: “STM study of nanostructures induced by ion sputtering on noble metals”. • 1994 University degree in Physics achieved at the Physics Department, University of Genova. Final mark: 110/110 cum laude Diploma thesis title: “A project for a new method of EELS spectroscopy”. • 1988 High school at the Liceo Scientifico G. P. Vieusseux in Imperia. Final mark: 60/60. Research career plan: • 2016 – present MER: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the group of Prof. Harald Brune • 2003 – 2016: 1er. Assistant: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the group of Prof. Harald Brune • 2000-2003: Assistant: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) under the direction of Prof. Harald Brune • 1999-2000: Research associate: Max-Planck-Institut of Stuttgart under the direction of Prof. Klaus Kern Miscellaneous of professional activities: a) Review panel • Member of the Elettra proposal review panel • Member of the committee of the EDPY doctoral school in Physics at the EPFL b) Co-worker in the building of the X-Treme beamline: c) Referee for scientific journals: • Nat. Commun., Phys. Rev. Lett., Phys. Rev. B, J. Appl. Phys., Surf. Sci., J. Magn. Magn. Mater. Funding record a) Funding awarded • Quantum Properties of Nanostructures at Surfaces, FNS 200020-157081/1; (01/10/2014 – 31/09/2017); total amount attributed: 832'558 CHF; co-applicant • Controlling magnetic anisotropy by interfacial coupling, FNS 200021_146715/1; (01/01/2014 – 31/12/2016); total amount attributed: 367'800 CHF; co-applicant • Self-assembled bi-metallic magnetic pillar superlattices with enhanced blocking temperature, SER C10.0135; (01/08/2011 – 01/08/2013); total amount attributed: 170'000 CHF; co-applicant • Magnetic and Catalytic Properties of Surface Supported Metallic Nanostructures, FNS 200020-120493/1; (01/04/2008 – 31/03/2010); total amount attributed: 402'669 CHF; co-applicant • Magnetic and Catalytic Properties of Surface Supported Metallic Nanostructures, FNS 200020-112322/1; (01/04/2006 – 31/03/2008); total amount attributed: 347'633 CHF; co-applicant b) Approved proposals for the allocation of beamtime Swiss Light Source (SLS): main proposer: 9 co-proposer: 4 Elettra: main proposer: 5 co-proposer: 1 European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): main proposer: 2 co-proposer: 11 Student supervisor • Co-director of PhD thesis: 4 PhD students

Dimitris Mousadakos: Seeking the smallest room temperature magnets; (in progress)
Romana Baltic: Controlling single atom magnetic anisotropy by interfacial coupling; (in progress)
Alberto Cavallin: Growth and magnetism of nanostructures investigated by STM, MOKE, and XMCD; (Oct. 2013), Thèse N°5941
Sergio Vlaic: Magnetism and atomic scale structure of bimetallic nanostructures at surfaces; (Dec. 2012), Thèse N° 5625

• Supervisor of PhD thesis (without co-direction): 4 PhD students

Anne Lehnert: Magnetism of individual adatoms and of epitaxial monolayers; (Jun. 2009), Thèse N° 4411
Geraud Moulas: Growth and magnetism of 2D bimetallic nanostructures; (Dec. 2008), Thèse N° 4231
Philipp Buluschek: Submonolayer growth of cobalt on metallic and insulating surfaces studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations; (Nov. 2007), Thèse N° 3944
Nicolas Weiss: Propriétés magnétiques de nanostructures de Co adsorbées; (Apr. 2004), Thèse N° 2980

• Supervisor of Master thesis: 6 students • Supervisor of semester projects: 9 students • PhD thesis referee: 2 students

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Psychology

Basic psychology: Cognitive psychology

Related concepts (32)

Computer memory

Computer memory stores information, such as data and programs for immediate use in the computer. The term memory is often synonymous with the term primary storage or main memory. An archaic synonym for memory is store. Computer memory operates at a high speed compared to storage which is slower but less expensive and higher in capacity. Besides storing opened programs, computer memory serves as disk cache and write buffer to improve both reading and writing performance.

Spintronics

Spintronics (a portmanteau meaning spin transport electronics), also known as spin electronics, is the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-state devices. The field of spintronics concerns spin-charge coupling in metallic systems; the analogous effects in insulators fall into the field of multiferroics.

Tunnel magnetoresistance

Tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) is a magnetoresistive effect that occurs in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), which is a component consisting of two ferromagnets separated by a thin insulator. If the insulating layer is thin enough (typically a few nanometres), electrons can tunnel from one ferromagnet into the other. Since this process is forbidden in classical physics, the tunnel magnetoresistance is a strictly quantum mechanical phenomenon. Magnetic tunnel junctions are manufactured in thin film technology.

Random-access memory

Random-access memory (RAM; ræm) is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working data and machine code. A random-access memory device allows data items to be read or written in almost the same amount of time irrespective of the physical location of data inside the memory, in contrast with other direct-access data storage media (such as hard disks, CD-RWs, DVD-RWs and the older magnetic tapes and drum memory), where the time required to read and write data items varies significantly depending on their physical locations on the recording medium, due to mechanical limitations such as media rotation speeds and arm movement.

Semiconductor memory

Semiconductor memory is a digital electronic semiconductor device used for digital data storage, such as computer memory. It typically refers to devices in which data is stored within metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) memory cells on a silicon integrated circuit memory chip. There are numerous different types using different semiconductor technologies. The two main types of random-access memory (RAM) are static RAM (SRAM), which uses several transistors per memory cell, and dynamic RAM (DRAM), which uses a transistor and a MOS capacitor per cell.

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