ELMAX stands for ELectrical Control of Magnetization in fully epitaXial van der Waals heterostructures. It is a 36 months young researcher project funded by the French ANR.
The recent discovery of 2D magnets has enabled the investigation of spin devices fully made of van der Waals materials. Thanks to their two-dimensional nature, 2D magnets generally possess a strong magnetic anisotropy, a high susceptibility to external stimuli and unconventional magnetic properties, making them highly interesting for spintronics. ELMAX investigates van der Waals multilayers fully grown by molecular beam epitaxy, combining 2D ferromagnets with transition metal dichalcogenides and topological insulators. The objective is to exploit the 2D nature of ferromagnets and the strong spin-momentum coupling in chalcogenides to efficiently control and switch the magnetization with charge currents (spin-orbit torques) and electric fields (voltage control of magnetism).
Contact: Frédéric BONELL