A reduction in the energy consumption for controlling magnetic properties of thin films, e.g., magnetization orientation, magnetic domain walls, spin polarization, and magnetic phases, is the essential requisite for developing next generation spintronic and magneto-electronic devices such as magnetic memories and recording media, said Dr. Tomoyasu Taniyama while delivering a Distinguished Lecture at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on 20th July 2016.
In his lecture titled “Multiferroic Heterostructures for Low Energy Spintronics and Magnonic Applications” Dr. Taniyama, who is an associate professor in the Laboratory for Materials and Structures, Institute of Innovative Research at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan says, “One of the most promising approaches is to use magneto-electric coupling effects at the interface of ferromagnetic/ferroelectric heterostructures, allowing for the electric-field control of the magnetic properties without using an electric current”. Dr. Taniyama is at the forefront of spin related physics and engineering in magnetic nanostructures and is investigating novel magnetic properties and spin polarized electron transport phenomena in magnetic thin films and nanostructures, including ferromagnet/semiconductor heterostructures and multiferroic ferromagnet/ferroelectric heterostructures. As part of the lecture which was attended by students, faculty and staff of the University, Dr. Taniyama presented his recent studies of electric-field control of magnetization switching in ferromagnetic/ ferroelectric heterostructures, particularly focusing on strain transfer effect across the interface due to the ferroelectric domain modulation by an electric field, which plays a critical role in the magnetization switching process.
Dr. Tomoyasu Taniyama obtained his PhD degree from Keio University, Japan, in 1997 for his work on the magnetic properties of transition metal nanoparticles. Prior to his appointment at the Laboratory for Materials and Structures, he worked with Professor J.A.C. Bland at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge and with Dr. I. Nakatani at the National Research Institute for Metals (currently National Institute for Materials Science, NIMS), Japan. In particular, he is exploring the fundamental electron spin dependent transport processes and magnetoelectric coupling which underpin the emerging field of spintronics and is a pioneer in the development of nanomagnetism. The scientific excellence of Dr. Taniyama is recognized in his several awards, including the Young Scientists’ Prize, the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2005, International Conference on Ferrites 11 (ICF 11) New Product & Novel Technology Award in 2013, and 13th Joint MMM-Intermag Best Poster Award in 2016. He published more than 200 articles in international journals, including Nature Physics, NPG Asia Materials, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review X, Physical Review B, Applied Physics Letters, and Journal of Applied Physics. Also, he currently serves as an Associate Editor of NPG Asia Materials, Nature Publishing Group.
Professor Vipin Srivastava, Pro Vice-Chancellor presided while Prof. Rajender Singh, Dean of School of Physics gave the welcome and introduced the guest.