Magnetism and Spintronics
Multifunctional materials and devices unite physical properties which usually do not coexist in the solid state. We fabricate such multifunctional systems, mostly in the form of hybrid samples: Materials with different functionalities (e.g., particular ferromagnetic, ferroelectric, ferroelastic, thermal, or optical properties) are combined in a heterostructure or a multilayer stack. The corresponding experimental investigations are focussed on the modification and the controlled manipulation of the ferromagnetic properties in multifunctional hybrids and multifunctional nanostructures.
Selection of Current Research Topics
Spin Currents and Spin Transport
Pure spin currents represent the chargeless transport of angular momentum. They give rise to novel interface effects like the recently discovered spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR).
Magnetization and Spin Dynamics
We study the dynamics of paramagnets and exchange-coupled spin systems by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We are interested in extracting fundamental material parameters like magnetic damping, anisotropy and exchange in a wide range of material classes. Furthermore, we apply broadband magnetic resonance to study dynamics of topologically nontrivial magnets and spin-orbit torques.
Spin Mechanics
The interplay between an elastic deformation of a solid and the magnetization direction, called magnetoelastic coupling, allows to sense and control the magnetization direction via the lattice stress and vice versa. Tailoring this interaction enables the realization of hybrid devices.
(Quantum) Materials
Transition metal oxides show fascinating physical properties such as ferro- and antiferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, or even multiferroicity. The enormous progress in oxide thin film technology allows us to integrate these materials with semiconducting, normal conducting, dielectric, or non-linear optical oxides in complex oxide heterostructures, providing the basis for novel multi-functional materials and making them suitable for various spintronic applications.