INPhINIT, ”la Caixa” Doctoral Fellowship Programme is devoted to attract international Early-Stage Researchers to top Spanish research centres, offering an attractive and competitive environment for excellent research.
INPhINIT offers a 3-year employment contract, including trasnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility opportunities, and attend a full range of complementary training courses and workshops.
Within this Program, we are looking for excellent candidates to join the Multifunctional Thin Films and Complex Oxides lab to work on these research projects:
1.- Photo-writing in ferroelectric green memory devices
2.- Pure spin currents: a toggle for energy-efficient control of magnetic memories
3.- Breaking symmetry and conventional wisdoms for efficient photovoltaics
4.- Low-Loss Multifunctional Plasmonic Metamaterials
5.- Dynamical modulation of electron spins with microwaves
6- Bioinspired Magnetic Nanodevices
7.- Ferroelectric nano-oscillators for pattern recognition and social networks
Engineering brain-like neurons and synapse with ferroelectrics
Supervisor: Josep Fontcuberta
In principle ferroelectric memories can be built and designed to mimic some learning aspects on neuronal networks. The candidate will learn about how to fabricate ferroelectric memories and to test them with the vision to determine their potential performance The student will be integrated to the MULFOX group at ICMAB (http://www.icmab.es/mulfox/)
Ferroelectric materials for photovoltaics
Supervisor: Josep Fontcuberta
Ferroelectric materials are being explored as new candidates for solar energy harvesting. The candidate will joint a team of people working on this subject. He/she and learn why and how ferroelectric materials can be useful and the appropriate techniques for growing, tailoring the band gap for enlarged photon absorption and testing. The student will be integrated to the MULFOX group at ICMAB (http://www.icmab.es/mulfox/).
Transparent metals for flat panel displays
Supervisor: Josep Fontcuberta
Displays are the most costly part of current tablets and smart telephones and some currently employed elements are expensive and rare. Therefore alternatives are required. The candidate will join a running project aiming to explore radically new routes. The student will be integrated to the MULFOX group at ICMAB (http://www.icmab.es/mulfox/).
New Materials for robust memories
Supervisor: Ignasi Fina
The project involves the growing of the antiferromagnetic material in thin film form on top of inexpensive substrates. The main body of the project focuses on basic characterization using a wide range of characterization techniques: structural, morphological, compositional, magnetometric and transport. Importantly, these techniques can be extrapolated to the characterization of any magnetic material. The student will also lead the functional tests of the material for being used as a memory element using transport or optical (by the use of the synchrotron light at ALBA) techniques.
Using light to study new materials for electronics
Supervisor: Gervasi Herranz
In our lab we are investigating new materials for applications in information technologies. One of our research lines aims at modulating the information stored in magnetic moments by the application of electric field pulses that, in turn, generate strain waves that stretch/squeeze locally the ferromagnet and change its magnetic state. We study these phenomena optically: the student will be trained in optical imaging and spectroscopy. Also, the candidate will have the opportunity to learn how devices can be designed to the ca. 100 nm scale by electron-beam lithography.
Spin currents in nanostructures
Supervisor: Ferran Macià
Spin currents may complement digital semiconductor technologies and offer new possibilities for memory capacity and computational performance of particular importance as semiconductor devices miniaturization approaches fundamental limits. This research project aims at studying the possibility of using spin currents (with no electrical charge) in nanostructured materials as information carriers. We will excite dynamical magnetic modes that can pump spins into a neighboring material. The project includes nanofabrication and measurements of microwaves in the fabricated structures.
Make Your PhD at MULFOX and discover and enjoy research!
A Call for Grants is just opened. Who can apply ?: EU Nationals, holding a Degree and a Master on: Physics, Materials Science, Geology (Crystallography), Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Engineering, and related education profiles.
Good marks. Scientific curiosity and enthusiasm and good communication skills.
