Introduction to the Condensed Matter Group
The condensed matter physics group studies the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of solids. We make artificial materials combining very thin layers of metals, alloys and oxides. We work with nanostructured and low dimensionality materials, such as carbon nanotubes and graphene. We investigate and exploit new and interesting effects that arise from the interactions and transport of electrons in these systems.
Our research portfolio can be split into a number of areas:
- Magnetism, magnetoresistance and exchange bias in metallic elements, alloys, glasses and heterostructures.
- Low dimensional carbon based materials for spintronics such as carbon nanotubes and graphene.
- Superconducting Spintronics - superconductor-ferromagnetic proximity effects and electron transport in superconductor-ferromagnetic heterostructures.
- Organic Spintronic materials
- Spintronics for quantum information processing
We use a wide range of techniques and facilties in our research:
- Thin film growth by MBE, sputtering and evaporation
- X-ray and Neutron scattering, photoemission, AFM, MFM and STM for characterisation both in-house and at national and international synchrotron facilties,
- Nanofabrication in cleanrooms using optical, electron and ion beam lithography,
- Magnetometry, optical and vibrating sample,
- Electrical transport measurements between 450K and 50 mK and in magnetic fields up to 9T.
Latest News
- PhD places available in thegroup now and from October 2010
The Condensed Matter Physics Group is recruiting for PhD Students to start now (for UK students only) and in October 2010. See our PhD Projects page for details.
- Discipline Hopping Award:
Denis Greig and Mike Savage together with Hong Woon, Consultant Retinal Surgeon at St James's University Hospital, have been awarded a Discipline Hopping Grant by the MRC. The award of £98k is to use techniques of experimental physics and analytical modelling to improve the results of an operation designed to close 'macular holes'. This devastating condition destroys the acute vision required to read or drive in about 5,000 UK patients per annum, and any improvement in either the discomfort or final outcome of the operation would transform the lives of those unlucky enough to be affected.
- Magnetism under the world's biggest microscope
Members of the group have been extending our knowledge of how magnetic materials behave on an atomic scale,. A team led by Dr Chris Marrows havsbeen using the PhotoEmission Electron Microscope (PEEM) on the Nanoscience beamline at the Diamond synchrotron to study the properties of magnetic domain walls, the boundary between areas of material with uniform magnetization. The group has modeled the way that these walls move when current is applied, a technique which has promising applications in writing data in more efficient digital memory devices, as well as improving our fundamental understanding of magnetism. This work has been published in the journal Physical Review B and featured on the Diamond website.
- Group awarded £1.5M Platform Grant by EPSRC
The Condensed Matter group has been award a 5 year £1.5M platform grant to provide underpinning funding to support our existing excellance in spintronics and to further development of our research towards the application of spintronics to Quantum Information Processing. The new grant provides flexible funding to allow the group to hire and retain key post-doctoral staff necessary to further the research programme.
- Leeds awards honorary degree to Albert Fert
The Condensed Matter group hosted the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics winner, Albert Fert, during his visit to Leeds to collect an honorary Doctorate in Science. Albert Fert had worked in the group under Prof. Dennis Grieg in the early 1970's shortly after his PhD. In 1988 Albert Fert, along with co-winner of the Nobel Prize, Peter Grünberg. discovered the key spintronics effect of Giant Magneto-Resistance.
last updated 15-04-2009
