Abstract: The current electronics industry is facing challenges both from the fundamental physics limit of silicon on the small scale, and the new demand for big-data applications on the large scale. Spintronics, utilizing spin degree of freedom, is a promising for future beyond-CMOS devices and systems, thanks to their low power consumption, nonvolatility, and easy 3D integration. The emerging 2D magnets can preserve single-phase magnetism even in monolayer (~0.8 nm) limits, and thus they are promising to further scale down devices. They have a sharp interface and atomically thin nature, promising for designer quantum devices and more functionalities (e.g. stacking order, twist angle, thickness, and voltage control). 

In this talk, I will discuss 2D topological spintronics on skyrmions and antiferromagnets, and their potential applications. I will begin by presenting my observations of real-space topological spin textures - magnetic skyrmions, in 2D devices. This work represents the first report of skyrmion lattice imaging in 2D layered magnets. Building on this, I will present my findings on the vertical imprinting of skyrmions onto neighboring layers in a 2D ferromagnet/2D ferromagnet system, demonstrating new functionality for skyrmion-based spintronics. I will then discuss the exchange coupling and voltage controlled 2D antiferromagnetism in devices, a step towards ultralow-power and fast spintronics. In addition, future work on quantum materials is motivated that would focus on energy-efficient control in magnetism, for neuromorphic and quantum computing.

Bio: Dr. Yingying Wu is a postdoctoral associate and a postdoctoral fellow in CIQM at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020. Prior to that, she received her MPhil degree in Physics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Nanjing University. Her research interests focus on exploring emerging quantum materials and devices for nanoelectronics.