Outside Collaborations
Overview
Members of the MRSEC are actively collaborating with researchers in national laboratories and academic institutions, and with a number of companies to develop nanostructured materials with enhanced magneto-electronic properties for specific applications.
Collaboration with Industry
• IBM T. J. Watson Research Center (Dr. William Gallagher): We are working with IBM researchers for the development of MgO-based tunnel junction sensors for spintronics devices. Researchers at IBM are collaborating with Gang Xiao on using scanning magnetoresistance microscopy developed by Gang Xiao to study magnetic switching properties of magnetic random access memory devices.
• IBM T. J. Watson Research Center (Dr. Frances Ross): We are using real time transmission electron microscopy imaging to study nucleation and growth during electrodeposition.
• MagIC (Dr. Tia Min): We have been working with Dr. Tia Min from MagIC on fabricating STT magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic electrodes. We have been fabricating AlOx-based MTJs using Co/Pt multilayer as perpendicular magnetic electrodes. The challenge to achieve MgO magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic electrodes that can survive a post annealing process near 360o C.
• SRI International (Dr. Srini Krishnamurthy): Making lateral spin valve devices from LSMO and specially tuned/blended organic semiconductors.
• Williams Advanced Materials (Francois Dary): We have been collaborating with Williams Advanced Material (a sputtering target company) for the development of binary anisotropy structures which comprise a thin FeRh layer sandwiched by a magnetic layer with perpendicular anisotropy and a magnetic layer with in-plane anisotropy. FeRh is a special material that below 100oC it is antiferromagnetic and above it is a ferromagnetic. Its special properties, especially in thin films, are being explored for novel applications.
• Micro Magnetics, Inc. (Dr. Weifeng Shen): On the development of MgO-based magnetic tunnel junction field sensors for biomagnetic applications.
• Hitachi Global Storage Technologies: Our collaboration with Dr. Bruce Terris and Dr. E. Dobisz involves the use of soft-lithography and electrodeposition to produce nanometer scale patterned arrays, and that with Dr. Xiaoyong Liu is on the development of multilayer structures in MgO-based magnetic tunneling junctions.
• Western Digital Corp (Dr. Feng Liu and Dr. Sining Mao): Issues of noise mechanisms in MgO magnetic tunnel junction heads.
Collaboration with National Laboratories
• NIST (R. Shull and A. Shapiro): We have taken advantage of the magneto-optic indicating film (MOIF) technique at NIST for the observation of magnetic domains in perpendicular anisotropy materials, resulted in several publications. NIST has provided funding for this collaboration.
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Dr. T. Felter): In this collaboration we are pursuing the fabrication of novel three dimensional nanostructures using non-collimated nuclear particles tracks as templates for electrochemical deposition.
• NIST (J. Borchers): Polarized neutron reflectometry measurements of organic semiconductor/metal interfaces, which play a crucial role in their magnetoelectronic effects.
Collaborations with Other MRSECs
• MRSEC at University of Minnesota (C. Leighton and E. D. Dahlberg): Measurements of spin polarization using Andreev reflection of highly spin polarized CoS2 crystals; joint publications.
Collaborations with Other US and International Academic Institutions
We have been collaborating with a number of researchers from other academic institutions, both in the US and elsewhere, leading to a number of joint publications, such as
Prof. K. Liu (University California at San Diego): Measurement of magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles using FORC.
Prof. E. Novak (University of Delaware): Noise measurements on lateral spin valve devices from LSMO and specially tuned/blended organic semiconductors
Prof. M. Cieplak (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland): Measurements of magnetic domains and superconducting vortex structures using arrays of Hall sensor; several joint publications.
Prof. A. McDonald (University of Texas at Austin): Spin transfer torque effects in novel materials.
Prof. Y. Bazaliy (University of South Carolina): Dynamics of domain walls in nanowires.
Prof. Lucas Perez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid): Manuel Plaza (student) worked in Searson group for three months as part of PhD thesis, resulted in a joint publication.
Collaborations with International Research Centers: These collaborations with international research centers have resulted in exchange of researchers and/or joint publications.
• Chinese Institute of Physics, Beijing, China: Nanoring magnetic tunnel junctions, resulted in joint publications.
• National Key Laboratory on Microstructures Nanjing University, Nanjing, China: Using superparamagnetism to engineer magnetic transfer curves for magnetic tunneling junctions.
• Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia: Optical imaging of magnetic domains of bilayers and multilayers with special attributes resulted in several joint publications.
• University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China: Physics of the newly discovered FeAs superconductors, including the measurements of the superconducting gap; single crystals of highly spin-polarized materials resulted in joint publications.
Style DIV, please skip.
Style DIV, please skip.