Theme 3: Magnetic Nanomaterials & Nanodevices
Synthesis of Magnetic Nanoparticles & Nanotubes
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are attracting increasing attention due to their wide applications such as magnetic biosensing, drug delivery, hyperthermia, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), etc. These applications mainly rely on the magnetic signals generated by the MNPs. Therefore, high-moment MNPs are preferred due to the high magnetic signals. In this case, the MNPs can provide enough signal with a relatively low dose and high signal to noise ratio. Our research topic extends to the fabrication of MNPs with high Ms such as FeCo and iron nitride for biomedical applications.
Industry Collaborators: CM Materials, Niron Magnetics
Micromagnetic Simulation
Micromagnetism is the study of magnetization at sub-micrometer length scale and is important for applications such as magnetic data storage, magnetic nanosensors, and spintronic devices. To date, micromagnetic tools for simulation and modeling of magnetic materials have opened a new horizon of research that helps predicting properties of biosensors and their approximate results in their applications even before fabrication. This makes the total process even more cost effective, error free and therefore saves time. The object oriented micromagnetic framework (OOMMF) and MuMax3 are popular open source micromagnetic modeling software, and they are used to calculate the space- and time-dependent magnetic dynamics of the magnetic nanostructures.
Neuromorphic Computing
Neuromorphic computing uses new algorithmic approaches that emulate how the human brain interacts with the world to deliver capabilities closer to human cognition. This innovative architectural approach will power future autonomous AI solutions that require energy efficiency and continuous learning. It promises to open exciting new possibilities in computing and is already in use in a variety of areas including, sensing, robotics, healthcare, and large-scale AI applications. Spintronic nanodevices that combine both the magnetic and electrical properties of electrons, can increase the energy efficiency and decrease the area of these circuits, and magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are of particular interest as neuromorphic computing elements because they are compatible with standard integrated circuits and can support multiple functionalities. In this topic, we are developing spintronic devices for neuromorphic computing.
