Technologies based on spintronics, i.e. exploiting both charge and spin degree of freedom of an electron have become integral parts of our world.
One of the main topics in spintronics is the manipulation of magnetic textures by currents. For example, strong current pulses are used to switch magnetic domains in multilayer devices, move domain walls, or induce microwave oscillations in nanomagnets.
In 2009, a novel magnetic texture – a skyrmion lattice – was observed for the first time. Due to their special properties, magnetic skyrmions are promising candidates for spintronics applications such as ultra-high density information storage and information processing.
The goal of my research projects is a deeper understanding of the complicated interplay between skyrmions, different magnetic structures and currents to optimally utilise the properties of skyrmions in spintronic applications.