PhD/PostDoc for “Metallic and Oxide Materials for Orbitronics and Magnonics”

We are opening two positions in the field of “Metallic and Oxide Materials for Orbitronics and Magnonics” at Institut Néel, CNRS, Grenoble The first position (PhD or PostDoc) will deal with the generation of spin and orbital electronic currents for spin–orbit torques in solid-state devices made of light metals, metallic ferromagnets and/or magnetic insulators. In the electrical excitation of magnetization dynamics by torques, the different channels related to spin dynamics and orbital dynamics need to be disentangled, which we want to accomplish by experiments involving magnetic transport measurements and microwave spectroscopy of magnetization dynamics. The Ph.D./postdoc will focus on the electronic measurement of metallic and magnetic oxide heterostructures subjected to microwaves, and will image the displacement of magnetic textures by currents, to quantify their efficiency in the generation of orbital currents and torques. Our approach will rely on the realization of new measurement procedures combining several kinds of electronic and microwave instrumentation. The second position (PhD) is dedicated to the epitaxial growth from liquid phase of monocrystalline layers of Yttrium iron garnet. Y3Fe5O12 (YIG), is a ferrimagnetic insulator with unique properties, such as a very high Faraday rotation angle and record coherence for magnetization dynamics. It has many applications in electronics, serving in tunable microwave devices, microwave circulators, optical insulators, etc. The manufacture of integrated magnonic devices, which extend the above applications to micro-and nanometric scales, requires the epitaxial growth of magnetic insulators in thin and/or very thin films. The PhD work thesis will focus on the growth of ultra-thin YIG layers by Liquid Phase Epitaxy in Pb-based and Pb-free solvents. Thermodynamic modeling studies will be used to determine the choice of solvents. The structural properties and magnetization dynamics will be measured by ferromagnetic resonance. The final aim of the work is to define Pb-free fluxes which can match or even improve the magnetic properties of YIG, compared to Pb-based fluxes. This thesis will be integrated in a collaborative work with several partners relying on iron garnet films for their investigations, and notably for ultra-coherent magnonics at low temperatures. For more detailed information about the two positions (requirements, deadlines, salary, etc.) please refer to the attached announcements. The starting dates are flexible, please contact us.