Team

Dr. Kyoung-Whan Kim

Research Interest

The purpose of my research is studying spin-orbit coupling effects in magnetic multilayers. The advantage of spin-orbit coupling is that direct coupling between the spin angular momentum and the orbital motion allows for angular momentum flow from the lattice to electron spins. This allows manipulating and detecting magnetic states by applying an electrical current with high efficiency. Spin-orbit torque, which is a torque on magnetization induced by spin-orbit coupling, is a good example. Furthermore, other spin-related phenomena, such as spin motive force, magnetic damping, and magnetoresistance, are also significantly affected by spin-orbit coupling.

In magnetic multilayers, inversion symmetry is naturally broken, allowing new physics which have been protected by symmetry. The effects of symmetry breaking becomes more important when the dimension of the system goes down to nanoscale. Since the effective spin-orbit coupling parameter is magnified in the presence of symmetry breaking, the strong spin-orbit coupling effects not only give rise to quantitative corrections to known phenomena, but also result in qualitatively different behaviors.

Not only does spin-orbit copuling affect the magnetization dynamics in nonequilibrium situations, it also affects the equilibrium properties. Examples include the emergence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and skyrmion states. It means that the equilibrium properties are highly correlated with the nonequilibrium properties via the spin-orbit coupling parameter. Revealing such correlations would be not only deepen our understanding of spin-orbit coupling in magnetic nanostructures, but also advance the realization of spintronic device applications.

Expertise

  • Magnetization dynamics
    • Spin-transfer torque and spin motive force
    • Magnetic damping and anisotropy
    • Motion of magnetic solitons
  • Spin-orbit interaction in nanostructures
    • Spin-orbit coupling effects in magnetic bilayers
    • Interfacial spin-orbit coupling due to broken inversion symmetry
    • Spin-orbit torque

Publications (Highlights)

  • "Field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization through spin-orbit torque in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet/oxide structures", Y.-W. Oh, S.-h. C. Baek, Y. M. Kim, H. Y. Lee, K.-D. Lee, C.-G. Yang, E.-S. Park, Ki-S. Lee, K.-W. Kim, G. Go, J.-R. Jeong, B.-C. Min, H.-W. Lee, K.-J. Lee, and B.-G. Park, Nature Nanotechnology 11, 878-884 (2016).
  • "Chirality from interfacial spin-orbit coupling effects in magnetic bilayers", K.-W. Kim, H.-W. Lee, K.-J. Lee, and M. D. Stiles, Physical Review Letters 111, 216601 (2013).
  • "Current-induced motion of a transverse magnetic domain wall in the presence of spin Hall effect", S.-M. Seo (equal), K.-W. Kim (equal), J. Ryu, H.-W. Lee, and K.-J. Lee, Applied Physics Letters 101, 022405 (2012).
  • "Prediction of giant spin motive force due to Rashba spin-orbit coupling", K.-W. Kim, J.-H. Moon, K.-J. Lee, and H.-W. Lee, Physical Review Letters 108, 217202 (2012).
  • "Magnetization dynamics induced by in-plane currents in ultrathin magnetic nanostructures with Rashba spin-orbit coupling", K.-W. Kim, S.-M. Seo, J. Ryu, K.-J. Lee, and H.-W. Lee, Physical Review B 85, 180404(R) (2012).
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Dr. Marie Böttcher

In a magnetic skyrmion, the magnetization rotates from a ferromagnetic background into the opposite direction in the center of the skyrmion.Spintronics, a combination of spin and electronics, not uses only the electrical charge, but also the intrinsic spin of the electron to process information. Recently, non-collinear chiral magnetic structures called skyrmions have received a lot of interest in the field of spintronics. Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like, highly stable vortical objects, in which the magnetization of the atoms rotates from a ferromagnetic background into the opposite direction in the center of the core.

For an application of skyrmions in data storage devices the knowledge of the temperature and magnetic field dependence is crucial. Especially the description of phase transitions is of prime importance. I use an advanced Monte Carlo technique called parallel tempering Monte Carlo (PTMC) to investigate these properties of skyrmion systems.

Skyrmions can be found in so-called frustrated spin systems where different competing interactions occur. This leads to many metastable states in the energy landscape, hence the description of the system needs a highly sophisticated modeling.

The PTMC uses thermal energy to overcome energy barriers between metastable states to sample a large volume of the phase space. Therefore, a certain number of copies of one spin structures, the so called replicas, were created and simulated at different temperatures. During the simulation time, replicas of adjacent temperatures are getting swapped. In doing so, the replicas were heated up and cooled down during the simulation process. This technique allows an accurate thermodynamical study of different magnetic systems which can host magnetic skyrmions.

Research Interest

  • Theoretical and computational physics, thermodynamics
  • Spintronics, nanomagnetism, spin glass
  • Skyrmions and chiral magnetic structures
  • Monte Carlo simulations

Publications

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Team Members (without pictures)

List with pictures

NameWorking Area
Office
/Building 2412		Phone
+49 6131 39-		Email

University Professor
Jairo SINOVAAlexander von Humboldt Professor,
Head of INSPIRE, Director of SPICE		01-32723340sinova@uni-mainz.de

Research Team Leaders
Bertrand DUPÉComputational Materials Design(2413) 02-23125781bertdupe@uni-mainz.de
Olena GOMONAYAntiferromagnetic Spintronics01-31923643ogomonay@uni-mainz.de
Erik R. McNELLISOrganic Spintronics01-32123644emcnelli@uni-mainz.de

Administration
Elena HILPSPICE and Guests Coordinator01-32527992ehilp@uni-mainz.de
Denise KORNBRUSTHR Management and
Project Management		01-32327991dkornbr@uni-mainz.de
Juliane SCHMIDT- on maternity leave -
Robert-André VETTELIT & Systems Administration(2413) 02-23327927ra.vettel@uni-mainz.de

Visiting Scientists
Sergei A. EGOROVUniversity of Virginia, USA
Rafael GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZAlexander v. Humboldt Fellow
Universidad del Norte, Colombia		01-31923643rhernand@uni-mainz.de
Warlley H. CAMPOSPhD Candidate joint with TWIST Group
Skyrmions and Spintronics in Topological Insulators		2412 / 01-523wacampos@uni-mainz.de
Hamidreza KAZEMITopological Spintronics
Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, Technical University of Kaiserslautern		2412 / 01-321hakazemi@uni-mainz.de
Shradha Chandrashekhar KoliTopological Material Design
Research Group of Prof. Zhao, Albert Fert Institute of Beijing		Staudingerweg 9 / 02-231schandra@uni-mainz.de

Research Staff
Reza MAHANIOrganic Spintronics01-32123644rmahani@uni-mainz.de
Davi R. RODRIGUESPostdoctoral Researcher joint with TWIST Group2412 / 01-533davrodri@uni-mainz.de
Ricardo ZARZUELAOrganic Spintronics01-31525781rzarzuela@uni-mainz.de

PhD Candidates
Pedram BASSIRIANResearch Assistant joint with TWIST Group2412 / 01-523pbassiri@students.uni-mainz.de
Marie BÖTTCHERComputational Materials Design01-52327424m.boettcher@uni-mainz.de
Uday CHOPRAOrganic Spintronics01-52327424uchopra@uni-mainz.de
Diana PRYCHYNENKOEmmy-Noether Group TWIST01-52327424prychynenko@uni-mainz.de
Libor ŠMEJKALAntiferromagnetic Spintronics01-31525781lsmejkal@uni-mainz.de

Master Students
Wojciech MORAWIECComputational Materials Design(2413) 02-23324549

Student Assistants
Hjördis PUSCHMedia & Photography01-32327991hjopusch@uni-mainz.de

Postal Address

Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz
Institute of Physics
INSPIRE Group

Staudingerweg 7
D 55128 Mainz

Group's Office

Room:   2412 / 01-323
Phone:  +49 6131 39 - 21268
Fax:      +49 6131 39 - 26375
Email:   sinova-group@uni-mainz.de

Directions

Find us on Google Maps
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Dr. Bertrand Dupé

Expertise

  • Solid state physics and materials science
  • Atomistic simulations, density functional theory (DFT)
  • Spin dynamics
  • Monte Carlo simulations of frustrated magnets

Publications (Highlights)

  • B. Dupé, G. Bilhmayer, M. Böttcher, S. Blügel, and S. Heinze "Engineering skyrmions in transition-metal multilayers for spintronics" Nature Communications, 2016, 7, 11779.
  • B. Dupé, M. Hoffmann, C. Paillard, and S. Heinze "Tailoring magnetic skyrmions in ultra-thin transitions metal films" Nature Communications, 2014, 5, 4030.
  • B. Dupé, I. C. Infante, G. Geneste, P.-E. Janolin, M. Bibes, A. Barthélémy, S. Lisenkov, L. Bellaiche, S. Ravy, B. Dkhil "Competing phases in BiFeO3 thin films under compressive epitaxial strain" Physical Review B, 2010, 81, 144128.
  • I. C. Infante, S. Lisenkov, B. Dupé, M. Bibes, S. Fusil, E. Jacquet, G. Geneste, S. Petit, A. Courtial, J. Juraszek, L. Bellaiche, A. Barthélémy, and B. Dkhil "Bridging multiferroic phase transitions by epitaxial strain in BiFeO3" Physical Review Letters, 2010, 105, 057601.
  • H. Béa, B. Dupé, S. Fusil, R. Mattana, E. Jacquet, B. Warot-Fonrose, F. Wilhelm, A. Rogalev, S. Petit, V. Cros, A. Anane, F. Petroff, K. Bouzehouane, G. Geneste, B. Dkhil, S. Lisenkov, I. Ponomareva, L. Bellaiche, M. Bibes, A. Barthélémy "Evidence for room-temperature multiferroicity in a compound with a giant axial ratio" Physical Review Letters, 2009, 21, 217603.
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Team Members

University Professor

Jairo SINOVA

Alexander von Humboldt Professor,
Head of INSPIRE, Director of SPICE
Phone: +49 6131 39 - 23340
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-327
sinova@uni-mainz.de
Sinova's Complete CV and Short CV

Leerzeile

Research Team Leaders and Postdoctoral Fellows

Atasi CHAKRABORTY

Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow
Antiferromagnetic and Altermagnetic Spintronics

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27992
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-325

atasi.chakraborty@uni-mainz.de

Olena GOMONAY

Independent Research Senior Team Leader
Spin+X and ElastoQMat PI
Antiferromagnetic Spintronics

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 23643
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-319

ogomonay@uni-mainz.de

Pieter GUNNINK

Independent Research Team Leader and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellow

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27991
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-315

pgunnink@uni-mainz.de

Xanthe VERBEEK

Postdoctoral Fellow ElastoQMat and SPIN+X: Altermagnetic and Antiferromagnetic Spintronics

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27992
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-325
xverbeek@uni-mainz.de

Leerzeile

Administration

Elena HILP

Administration
PA of Sinova, SPICE & Guests Coordinator

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27992
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 23474
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-325

ehilp@uni-mainz.de

Denise KORNBRUST

Administration
HR & Project Management

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27991
Phone (direct): +49 6131 39 - 23642
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-323

dkornbr@uni-mainz.de

Hjördis PUSCH

Administration
HR, Project Management

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27991
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-323

hpusch07@uni-mainz.de

Leerzeile

PhD Candidates

Gaspar DE LA BARRERA

PhD Candidate
Antiferromagnetic spintronics and unconventional magnetism

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27991
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-533

gdelabar@uni-mainz.de

Rodrigo JAESCHKE

PhD Candidate
Topological Antiferromagnetic Spintronics

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27424
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-317

rjaeschk@uni-mainz.de

Sergio RODRÍGUEZ

PhD Candidate
Unconventional Magnetism and Spintronics

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27424
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-533

srodrigu@uni-mainz.de

Master Students

Nils KELLER

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27424
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-523

nkelle02@students.uni-mainz.de

Colin LANGE

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27424
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-523

colange@students.uni-mainz.de

Visiting Scientists

Rafael GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZ

Associate Professor
Alexander v. Humboldt Fellow

Universidad del Norte
Departamento de Fisica
Barranquilla, Colombia

rhernandezj@uninorte.edu.co

Jacob GAYLES

Assistant Professor

University of South Florida
Departament of Physics
Tampa, USA

gayles@usf.edu

Leerzeile

Scientific Student Assistants

Thabiso KHOZA

Media & Outreach Student Assistant

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27991
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-322

khozatha@uni-mainz.de

Elizabeth PANFILOVA

Administration
HR & Administrative Student Assistant

Phone: +49 6131 39 - 27991
Fax: +49 6131 39 - 26375
Office: Staudingerweg 7 / 01-323

panfiloe@uni-mainz.de

Photos: Sabrina Hopp, Robert Vettel, Lukas Klein and Angélica Ruiz
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Dr.-Ing. Melanie Dupé

Research Interests

Atomistic simulations of multiferroics
Melanie Dupé - Research Area

Expertise

  • Chemistry and materials science
  • Atomistic simulations, density functional theory (DFT) and Monte-Carlo
  • Functional materials (lead-free piezoelectrics, cathode materials for lithium ion batteries, phosphors)
  • Structure-property relationships in perovskites
  • Thermodynamic stability and point defects in dielectrics

Publications (Highlights)

 

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04.11.2016 – INSPIRE Group Welcomes New Team Members

We are very pleased to welcome Bertrand Dupé and Melanie Dupé, Kyoung-Whan Kim, Marie Böttcher and Uday Chopra to the INSPIRE group. Bertrand Dupé joined us as an interim professor and team leader. Melanie Dupé and Kyoung-Whan Kim, both postdoctoral researcher, add perfectly our team as well as Marie Böttcher and Uday Chopra, who joined us as PhD students.

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Dr. Erik R. McNellis

Welcome. 🙂

My work sits at the nexus of two major trends of contemporary materials- and nano-science:

The first is the exploitation of the lower cost, greater abundance, greater tailorability and versatility of components based on organic molecules over traditional solid state materials in microtechnology.

The second is the use of the laws of quantum mechanics and powerful computers to predict highly accurate, atomically resolved properties of nano-systems. Such computational modeling from first-principles theory is exponentially developing into an essential, extremely cost-efficient tool for academic and industrial nanotechnological research alike.

Previously, I have modeled solid surfaces functionalized with single-molecule electrooptical motors, and worked on chemically tuning the electronic motion in novel solar cells based on organic molecules and quantum-dots. My methodological experience covers electronic structure theory in various forms from the solid state to quantum chemical methods.

Currently, I lead the Organic Spintronics Team. We work on developing molecular materials and components for spintronics from atomistic theoretical models, using the full gamut of modern first-principles and multi-scale modeling methods.

Publications (Highlights)

Awards & Fellowships

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship at FOM AMOLF (Amsterdam, NL) / Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Mainz, DE) (Feb 2012 – Oct 2014)
  • Full Scholarship at International Max-Planck Research School (Berlin, DE) (Jan 2006 – May 2008)
  • Full Scholarship at Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, UCLA (Los Angeles, USA) (Sep 2005 – Nov 2005)
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01.08.2016 – Ulrike Ritzmann joined the INSPIRE Group

P1020972 - Version 2
We are very pleased to welcome Ulrike Ritzmann to the INSPIRE group. Before Ulrike joined our group, she had a Postdoc position in Prof. Ulrich Nowak's group at the University of Konstanz. Her research interest lies in the field of spin caloritronics, that combines the interplay of heat, charge and spin. In magnetic materials, temperature gradients can excite spin currents mediated via the so-called magnons, which are the excitations of the magnetic system. By using atomistic spin model simulations, she studies the thermally driven magnon propagation and its characteristic length scale in different magnetic materials starting from ferromagnets to two-sublattice materials like antiferromagnets and ferrimagnets.

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14.07.2016 – Amaury Souza received the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation Research Fellowship

Amaury AvH Fellowship

Brilliant news for the INSPIRE group: We are very pleased to announce that Amaury Souza received the Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. As the group knows how to celebrate, we took the opportunity to celebrate his achievement with a traditional and popular dish from his home country Brazil: Pão de Queijo (Cheese Bread). We wish him all the best and much inspiration for his future research projects as a part of the INSPIRE group!

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