Details of Grant

EPSRC Reference:

EP/N032128/1

Title:

Skyrmionics: From Magnetic Excitations to Functioning Low-Energy Devices

Principal Investigator:

Other Investigators:

Hesjedal, Professor T	Balakrishnan, Professor G	Lancaster, Professor T
Hovorka, Dr O	Lees, Dr MR	Paul, Professor DM
Midgley, Professor PA	Fangohr, Professor H

Researcher Co-Investigators:

Dr JC Loudon

Project Partners:

Cardiff University	Dalhousie University	Diamond Light Source
European Synch Radiation Facility - ESRF	IBM Corporation (International)	Institute Max von Laue - Paul Langevin
ISIS	Nat Synchrotron Radiation Res Ctr NSRRC	PSI
Samsung	Seagate Technology	Tamkang University
Technical University of Munich	Toshiba	University of Parma

Department:

Physics

Organisation:

Durham, University of

Scheme:

Programme Grants

Starts:

20 July 2016

Ends:

19 January 2023

Value (£):

5,101,385

EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:

Condensed Matter Physics

Magnetism/Magnetic Phenomena

EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:

Electronics

Information Technologies

Related Grants:

Panel History:

Panel Date	Panel Name	Outcome
20 Apr 2016	Programme Grant Interviews - 20 -21 April 2016 (Physical Sciences)	Announced

Summary on Grant Application Form

Tony Skyrme proposed that under special circumstances it is possible to stabilize vortex-like whirls in fields to produce topologically stable objects. This idea, effectively of creating a new type of fundamental particle, has been realised with the recent discovery of skyrmions in magnetic materials. The confirmation of the existence of skyrmions in chiral magnets and of their self-organization into a skyrmion lattice has made skyrmion physics arguably the hottest topic in magnetism research at the moment. Skyrmions are excitations of matter whose occurrence and collective properties are mysterious, but which hold promise for advancing our basic understanding of matter and also for technological deployment as highly efficient memory elements. Following the discovery of skyrmions in a variety of materials, several urgent questions remain which are holding back the field: what are the general properties of the phase transitions that lead to the skyrmion lattice phase, the nature of its structure, excitations and stability and how might we exploit the unique magnetic properties of this matter in future devices? These questions have only recently begun to be addressed by several large international consortia and are far from being resolved. For the UK to contend in this highly competitive field a major project is required that brings together UK experts in materials synthesis and state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental techniques. We propose the first funded UK national programme to investigate skyrmions, skyrmion lattices and skyrmionic devices. Our systematic approach, combining experts from different fields is aimed at answering basic questions about the status of magnetic skyrmions and working with industrial partners to develop technological applications founded on this physics.

Key Findings

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Potential use in non-academic contexts

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Impacts

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Summary
Date Materialised

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