Back to search results

PhD Studentship: Interfacial Spin-orbit Coupling Based Superconducting Spintronics

Imperial College London

Qualification Type: PhD
Location: London
Funding for: UK Students
Funding amount: £19,668 annual tax-free stipend
Hours: Full Time
Placed On: 27th March 2023
Closes: 31st May 2023
 

Primary Supervisor: Dr Niladri Banerjee (n.banerjee@imperial.ac.uk)

Co-supervisor: Prof. Lesley Cohen

Applications are invited for a research studentship in the field superconductivity and spin-based electronics (spintronics), leading to the award of a PhD degree. The post is supported by a bursary and fees (at the UK student rate) provided by the EPSRC. The candidates should fulfil the eligibility criteria for the award.

Summary of the project

Spin-based electronics (spintronics) which uses the electron spin for reading, writing and processing information plays a crucial role in modern computing and data storage technologies. However, spintronic devices still rely on dissipative charge currents as the source of spin currents and suffer from large heat dissipation. This problem could be potentially addressed using superconductors.

However, conventional superconductivity does not carry a net spin since it is formed of electron pairs with anti-parallel spins - the singlet Cooper pair. In the last decade several experiments1 confirmed the existence of an exotic spin-triplet superconductivity in superconductor-ferromagnet (S/F) thin film hybrids which is formed of equal spin-paired electrons (triplet Cooper pairs) and carries a net spin. However, generating this triplet superconductivity usually requires S/F hybrid structures with complex magnetic textures.

Recently, we demonstrated that S/F hybrids with interfacial spin-orbit coupling and without complex magnetic textures can be used to generate triplets2. In addition to strikingly simplifying the thin film structures, presence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in S/F structures raises intriguing new possibilities such as magnetisation reorientation purely driven by superconductivity or magnetically tunable superconducting transistors3.

This PhD project will explore the possibility to fabricate these SOC-based functional devices. For example, a key goal in the project will be to explore the fabrication of SOC-based spin triplet Josephson junctions and study the transmission of triplet supercurrents through materials with high SOC. These results will open up new paradigms in direct electrical control of the spin polarization of supercurrents mediated by SOC.

The student will learn and use thin film deposition and develop expertise in nano fabrication using standard optical and/or electron beam lithography and ion milling. The project will also involve low-temperature measurement of electronic and magnetic properties of thin films and devices.

You will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated person who meets the academic requirements for enrolment for the PhD degree at Imperial College London. Good team-working, observational and communication skills are essential.

Please complete an electronic application form at Imperial College London in order for their qualifications to be addressed by College Registry

References:

  1. J. Linder and J. W. A. Robinson, Nature Physics, 11, 307 – 315 (2015)
  2. N. Banerjee, et al., Phys. Rev. B., 97, 184521, (2018)
  3. M. Amundsen et al., arXiv:2210.03549, (2022)

To find out more about research at Imperial College London in this area, go to:

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/experimental-solid-state/postgraduate/

For information on how to apply, go to:

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/apply/postgraduate-doctoral/

We value your feedback on the quality of our adverts. If you have a comment to make about the overall quality of this advert, or its categorisation then please send us your feedback
Advert information

Type / Role:

Subject Area(s):

Location(s):

PhD tools
 

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Ok Ok

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Account Verification Missing

In order to create multiple job alerts, you must first verify your email address to complete your account creation

Request verification email Request verification email

jobs.ac.uk Account Required

In order to create multiple alerts, you must create a jobs.ac.uk jobseeker account

Create Account Create Account

Alert Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your account is currently blocked. Please login to unblock your account.

Email Address Blocked

We received a delivery failure message when attempting to send you an email and therefore your email address has been blocked. You will not receive job alerts until your email address is unblocked. To do so, please choose from one of the two options below.

Max Alerts Reached

A maximum of 5 Job Alerts can be created against your account. Please remove an existing alert in order to create this new Job Alert

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your alert was not created at this time. Please try again.

Ok Ok

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

 
 
 
More PhDs from Imperial College London

Show all PhDs for this organisation …

More PhDs like this
Join in and follow us

Browser Upgrade Recommended

jobs.ac.uk has been optimised for the latest browsers.

For the best user experience, we recommend viewing jobs.ac.uk on one of the following:

Google Chrome Firefox Microsoft Edge