Welcome to the Microspectroscopy Group
The Microspectroscopy Group has a long experience in synchrotron based hyperspectral imaging for a wide variety of materials and involving many different scientific disciplines. In particular we study the nanostructures of novel organic materials and the magnetic properties of thin films and multilayers employing a combination of X-ray microscopy and spectroscopy. We operate two beamlines at the SLS, PolLux and NanoXAS. At these beamlines we perform our research and provide support for external users.
Recent Scientific Highlights and News:
Wrinkles and wrinklons: magnetic films with tuneable topographies
Sebastian Gliga has been awarded an SNF Spark grant to investigate the possibility of combining magnetic thin films with graphene to create logical devices. As electronic components, such as those found in computer CPUs, are miniaturized, they generate waste heatand alternative schemes are being explored to create novel data processing architectures. This project, to be carried out in the Microspectroscopy group (PSD), aims to exploit the tunable topography of graphene to create magnetic systems, which allow simultaneously guiding spin waves and performing logical operations based on spin wave interference.
Nano-engineered contact for the zero-field nucleation of magnetic skyrmions
Researchers in a joint collaboration between the PolLux endstation of the Swiss Light Source and the University of Leeds have achieved the reliable and reproducible electrical nucleation of magnetic skyrmions from a nano-engineered point contact structure, investigating the physical mechanisms driving the nucleation process.
Let’s not make big waves
A team of researchers generates ultra-short spin waves in an astoundingly simple material. Due to its potential to make computers faster and smartphones more efficient, spintronics is considered a promising concept for the future of electronics. In a collaboration including the Paul Scherrer Institut, a team of researchers has now successfully generated so-called spin waves much more easily and efficiently than was previously deemed possible. The researchers are presenting their results in the journal Physical Review Letters (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.117202).