The field of magnetism and spintronics deals with understanding the fundamentals of magnetic materials and ways to control their magnetic properties and manipulate their magnetization. Spintronics refers specifically to using the spin degree of freedom of electrons to control the charge transport properties of materials. Unique properties emerge when magnetic materials are scaled down to nanometer-scale thin films or nanowires, or nanodots. These are critical for applications like magnetic data storage and magnetic sensors. Dr Vineeth Mohanan's research will involve developing magnetic thin films and multilayers whose magnetic easy axis can be configured in preferred orientations. Such materials could be used for enhancing the magnetic data storage density of current technology. In the next step, they plan to reduce the lateral dimensions of magnetic thin films into nanoscale magnets using lithography techniques, where the team will explore the electrical control of magnetism. Also, the group plan to fabricate and use 2D materials composed of nanomagnet arrays to study correlations, phase transitions, and emergent properties. Moreover, we will utilize micromagnetic simulations to design novel nanoscale spintronic devices with intended properties.
Members: Dr. Vineeth Mohan, Dr. Pradeep A. V.