New AFOSR Grant to Study Magnetic Signatures of Defects

Posted in News Story

Professors Kai Liu and Gen Yin have received a new grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to study magnetic signatures of defects in nanoscale heterostructures.

Fundamental advances in magnetism and spintronics critically depend on microscopic understandings of the structure and properties of heterostructures and inhomogeneous systems. Magnetic heterostructures have been widely employed in next generation high-density, high-speed and low-power information processing systems. Since the presence of defects in any realistic samples may lead to significant intrinsic or extrinsic impacts on the performance, characterizations of inhomogeneous magnetic properties have become the most demanding aspect in many fields of research.

Characterization of magnetic interfaces with good correlation and causation is usually challenging, especially when large-area and high-throughput probing is required, and for defects and impurities either buried under unexposed interfaces or diffused into inhomogeneous magnetic systems.

In this project, Liu and Yin’s team will use the first-order reversal curve (FORC) technique as a magnetic “fingerprinting” tool to investigate defects in multilayer thin films. Unlike conventional magnetic measurements, FORC captures detailed magnetization reversal processes, offering significantly deeper insights into defect effects. The study will explore how these defects can be harnessed to precisely control magnetism using electric fields, while also developing an open-access platform to accelerate broader research in nanomagnetic technologies.

Ultimately, this project aims to transform microscopic imperfections from obstacles into useful features, paving the way for low-power, high-density magnetic memory and future spintronic devices.