PhD Studentship: Creating Hybrid Nanodevices for Optical Control of Nanomagnetic Data Processing

Study start date of October 2024. 

Nowadays, information technologies are ubiquitous, allowing us to solve more and more complex computational problems than ever. However, the increase in computational power and data density comes at high costs with respect to energy consumption, as a sizeable fraction of electricity used to drive modern chips gets dissipated as heat. Heat, nonetheless, can be used in an effective way, and especially potentially useful phenomena arise in situations where the temperature distribution is not uniform, e.g., if one side of a device is hot while its opposite side is cold. Within our project, you will combine concepts from the field of opto-electronics, photonics, and functional magnetic materials, to produce novel devices for fast, precise, and reconfigurable optical control of nano- to microscale temperature distributions by light for key applications in magnetic data processing, including the control of magnetic bits and unconventional computing.

You will be working with us at the School of Science to fabricate novel light-controlled hybrid magnetic-plasmonic devices using state-of-the-art nanolithography and deposition methods, as well as to quantify their operation using different magnetic and transport techniques. The project offers ample links to research areas within the School of Science, which includes diverse topics of material science such as magnetism, spintronics, and novel 2D and topological materials for energy-efficient applications, as well as interdisciplinary links to neuromorphic computing architectures.

With expertise ranging from state-of-the-art nanofabrication, optical methods, as well as magnetic measurement characterisation you will have the opportunity to be exposed a broad variety of research topics and techniques. This will be further supported by access to the Loughborough Materials Characterisation Centre, which offers a combination of an experienced team of researchers and world-class characterisation equipment, as well as collaborations with leading researchers both in the UK and abroad. Within this interdisciplinary project, you will have the opportunity to develop expertise in nanolithography and thin-film deposition by e-beam and sputtering, various optical, magnetic, and electric experimental characterisation techniques, as well as novel computing approaches.

Entry requirements:

Students should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 honours (or international equivalent) in physics, materials engineering, or related subjects. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be desirable: lithography or thin-film deposition techniques, magnetic characterisation, optical experiments, machine learning.

English language requirements:

Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website.

Funding information:

The studentship is for 3 years full time or 6 years part time and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum (full time) for the duration of the studentship plus university tuition fee.

How to apply:

Apply online via the above ‘Apply’ button. Under programme name, select Physics. Please quote the advertised reference number: NL/PH/2024 in your application.

To avoid delays in processing your application, please ensure that you submit the minimum supporting documents, including a CV.

The following selection criteria will be used by academic schools to help them make a decision on your application.

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