Welcome to LMGN
The Laboratory of Nanoscale Magnetic Materials and Magnonics (LMGN) at EPFL explores magnetic nanomaterials for applications in information technology (data processing, transmission, logic), sensing and multifunctional devices. We prepare and investigate individual ferromagnetic nanostructures such as nanotubes, periodic and aperiodic nanomagnet arrangements such as magnonic crystals, artificial spin ice and quasicrystals as well as skyrmion lattices. We study their fundamental properties and search for novel functionalities.
By our experiments and simulations, we aim at obtaining a microscopic understanding about how to master collective spin excitations at the nanoscale. The focus is devoted to microwave properties covering the frequency regime from about 1 GHz to 1 THz and beyond. In this regime, electromagnetic waves that, in free space, exhibit wavelengths from mm to cm can be coupled to the microscopic magnetic moments, thereby inducing spin-precessional motion (spin waves). The wave-like excitation can obey a wavelength of a few 10 nanometers and smaller. Miniaturized microwave components are hence possible. By our projects we contribute to the research field magnonics where one aims at data processing and transmission using spin waves in nanoengineered magnetic circuits. The main challenges in the research field are as follows:
- rmagnetic materials offering the lowest possible signal losses
- development of a nanotechnolgy for 3D device architectures
- microwave-to-spin wave transducers for wavelengths below 100 nm
- interfacing with existing nanoelectronics
- reprogrammable magnetic metamaterials
LMGN follows research along these different lines in national and international collaborations.