Patterned Magnetic Thin Films with Perpendicular Anisotropy: Fabrication, Properties, and Applications
Date, time: 11 June 2025, 1:00 p.m. (Prof. Arkadiusz Piekara Auditorium of Collegium Physicum)
Speaker: Prof. IFM PAN dr hab. Piotr Kuświk (Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland)
Abstract: The continuous demand for higher storage density, faster data access, and lower energy consumption in memory devices has driven extensive research into materials exhibiting perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). While PMA materials are already employed in technologies such as hard disk drives and magnetoresistive random access memory , the search for new materials capable of further enhancing data storage capacity and processing speed remains ongoing. Ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic PMA materials with strong Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction are of particular interest, as this interaction leads to the formation of magnetic skyrmions. Due to their stability and nanoscale dimensions, skyrmions are considered a promising medium for next-generation data storage and information processing. In addition, PMA materials are being explored as platforms for the magnetophoretic control of superparamagnetic beads (SPBs). Functionalized SPBs can be manipulated using externally applied magnetic fields in combination with the static stray fields of patterned PMA materials. The ability to remotely and precisely control the motion of SPBs is becoming increasingly valuable in the development of advanced lab-on-a-chip technologies for biomedical applications—such as targeted drug delivery and blood diagnostics—offering innovative possibilities for point-of-care systems.
To enable such advanced functionalities of magnetic layered systems, patterning techniques that allow for localized modification of magnetic properties are often required. Methods such as plasma oxidation, focused ion beam processing, or controlled variation in composition and layer thickness allow for precise tuning of switching fields, magnetic anisotropy, and stray field distribution across domain structures. These adjustments are crucial for the effective control of both skyrmions and SPBs controlled propagation.
Chairman: Prof. UAM dr hab. Aleksandra Trzaskowska