Scientific Highlights
Biffo the fish: BiFeO3 nanoplate wins the Magnetism Art Competition at JEMS 2023 in Madrid
Dr. Tim A. Butcher from the Microspectroscopy group was awarded the first prize in the "Art in Magnetism" competition of the JEMS 2023 conference with his contribution "Biffo", obtained from a ptychography image of a BiFeO3 nanoplate.
From light-years to nanometers: reconstruction of unknown oscillations in STXM
From light-years to nanometers: by repurposing an algorithm originally developed for the investigation of oscillatory dynamics in astronomical objects, scientists have been able to image non-locked dynamical processes at the nanosecond and nanometer scale.
Nanomaterial from the Middle Ages
Unlocking the secrets of Zwischgold at PSI.
Nucleation of synthetic antiferromagnetic skyrmions
Magnetic skyrmions stabilized in synthetic antiferromagnets hold promise as nanoscale information carriers in novel non-volatile magnetic memory designs. In this work, scientists in a worldwide collaborative effort have demonstrated the electrically-induced nucleation of magnetic skyrmions in synthetic antiferromagnets, which is a vital stepping stone towards the applicability of these magnetic textures in devices.
Ferrimagnetic Skyrmions: fast and straight
Scientists have demonstrated, through magnetic X-ray microscopy, that magnetic skyrmions stabilized in ferrimagnetic heterostructures can be displaced by electrical currents at high velocities, and exhibit low deflection angles, proving that ferrimagnetic skyrmions are good candidates for fast skyrmionic devices.
Light amplification accelerates chemical reactions in aerosols
Aerosols in the atmosphere react to incident sunlight. This light is amplified in the interior of the aerosol droplets and particles, accelerating reactions. ETH and PSI researchers have now been able to demonstrate and quantify this effect and recommend factoring it into future climate models.
Into the fourth dimension: time-resolved soft X-ray laminography
Combining time-resolved soft X-ray STXM imaging with magnetic laminography, researchers were able to investigate magnetization dynamics in a ferromagnetic microstructure resolved in all three spatial dimensions and in time. Thanks to the possibility of freely selecting the frequency of the excitation applied to the magnetic element, this technique opens the possibility to investigate resonant magneto-dynamical processes, such as e.g. magnetic vortex core gyration and switching, and spinwave emission.
3D printed nanomagnets unveil a world of patterns in the magnetic field
Scientists have used state-of-the-art 3D printing and microscopy to provide a new glimpse of what happens when taking magnets to three-dimensions on the nanoscale – 1000 times smaller than a human hair.
Spin-wave dynamics in a chiral artificial spin system
Artificial spin ices are periodic arrangements of interacting nanomagnets which allow investigating emergent phenomena in the presence of geometric frustration. Recently, it has been shown that artificial spin ices can be used as building blocks for creating functional materials, such as magnonic crystals. Scientists have now investigated the GHz dynamics in a spin ice with a chiral geometry. They found that the system possesses a rich spin-wave spectrum owing to the presence of anisotropic magnetostatic interactions. These results contribute to the understanding of GHz magnetization dynamics in spin ices and are relevant for the realization of reconfigurable magnonic crystals based on spin ices.