Workpackages

Objectives

The objectives of WP1 are: to fulfil the requirements of the Contract signed by the Coordinator with the Research Executive Agency (REA); to prepare the Consortium Agreement; to guarantee the administrative and financial management of the project; to monitor the progress of the ETN in concordance with the deliverables and milestones; to manage knowledge generated under the frame of the Network (IPR in accordance with Horizon 2020).

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T1.1 Organization of the Kick-off meeting.
• T1.2 Management of legal, ethical, financial, contractual and administrative reporting of the project.
• T1.3 Decisions on financial transfers and other budgetary matters; collecting financial data.
• T1.4 Preparation of the annual project progress reports to be submitted to EC/REA.
• T1.5 Management and coordination of knowledge generated under the frame of the Network (IPR).
• T1.6 Coordination of the dissemination and exploitation of results.
• T1.7 Coordination and management of secondments.
• T1.8 Oversee of diversity and gender equality issues in the project.
• T1.9 Creation and Maintenance of BeMAGIC Website.
• T1.10 Organization of the final review meeting.

Objectives

The main objective of WP2 is the design of ME materials to meet specific needs and the modelling of ME effects. A critical feature of successful product development is the thoughtful selection of the best materials among the available ones, coupled with a design that takes full advantage of BeMAGIC capabilities. For each specific application (biomedical or information technologies) materials will be screened using literature databases, running computer simulations and performing preliminary trials. Multiphysics software packages, as well as micromagnetic and Monte-Carlo simulations, will be employed to model different aspects of ME actuation effects.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T2.1 Selection of candidate ME materials for information technologies (secure memories, tunnel junctions, magnonics) and biomedical using machine learning and data-mining methods.
• T2.2 Optimizing ME effects using multiphysics simulation packages.
• T2.3 Using ab-initio calculations and density functional theory to shed light on the effects of voltage on the effective magnetic anisotropy and to disentangle surface charge accumulation effects from other phenomena.

Objectives

The objective of this WP is the synthesis of the different types of ME materials to be studied in BeMAGIC. This includes patterned nano-objects, nanoporous alloys, dense and nanoporous oxide films and multilayers. All ESRs will synthesize ME materials, either in their main Host Institution or during their secondments. Two types of ME materials will be prepared: (i) heterostructured multiferroic thin films and core-shell NPs (magnetostrictive + piezo/ferroelectric) and (ii) ultrathin-films and thick nanoporous alloy and oxide films (with a high surface area-to-volume ratio) for electric surface charging and magneto-ionics. Films will be grown by sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, atomic layer deposition, electrodeposition, and evaporation-induced self-assembly combined with dip coating. Core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) will be prepared by solution-chemistry and hydrothermal synthetic procedures. Lithography techniques will be used to prepare micro/nano-patterned structures, whereas nanowires and nanorods will be grown using template-assisted electrodeposition.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T3.1 Growth of heterostructured multiferroic thin films.
• T3.2 Growth of multiferroic core-shell and dome-like NPs
• T3.3 Growth of nanoporous metallic and porous/dense oxide films/structures for electric surface-charging and magneto-ionic experiments.
• T3.4 Growth of patterned ME materials by lithography techniques.

Objectives

WP4 encompasses all aspects of structural and ME characterization of the materials produced in WP3. Several techniques will be employed for structural characterization: SEM/TEM, atomic force microscopy, profilometry, porosimetry, inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP), XRD–small and wide angle, including grazing incidence–, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), XPS, etc. Magnetoelectric characterization will be performed either using liquid or solid electrolytes. For converse ME studies, electric field will be applied using either the field effect transistor or the condenser geometries, often with custom-made instruments. Magnetic properties under voltage application will be measured by VSM, SQUID, MOKE or resistive Hall effect. Voltage will be also applied using conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM). Piezoforce microscopy (PZF) will be used to assess strain-mediated ME effects. Structural characterization after ME measurements will be also performed.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T4.1 In-depth characterization of chemical composition, morphology, crystallite size and orientation and surface roughness of materials.
• T4.2 Magnetoelectric characterization using liquid electrolytes.
• T4.3 Magnetoelectric characterization using solid configurations.

Objectives

This WP aims at using heterostructured multiferroic materials, electric surface charging and magneto-ionics to develop new concepts for magnetic data storage, spintronic devices and magnonics, always with the aim of improving energy efficiency with respect to currently available technologies. Specific goals will be to use voltage in order to (i) reduce coercivity of magnetic storage media, (ii) tune the magnetic easy axis of the free layer in tunnel junctions (and spin valve systems) and (iii) control the propagation of electromagnetic waves and spin waves using ME materials. Prototypes of voltage-driven tunnel junction memory units for proof-of concept ME-RAMs, as well as magnonic devices in which spin waves propagation will be controlled with electric field will be delivered.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T5.1 To offer an alternative to thermally-assisted writing and spin-torque magnetization reversal based on voltage actuation to enhance energy efficiency in spintronic devices.
• T5.2 To implement a prototype of magnetic tunnel junction (and, thus, ME-RAM device) in which voltage, instead of electric current, will be used to manipulate the orientation of the free-layer magnetization.
• T5.3 To use ME materials as flux guides for electromagnetic waves, therefore enhancing position freedom for energy transfer.
• T5.4 To show the possibility of using electric fields (eventually combined with magnetic fields) to control spin waves routing in magnonic crystals (prototype of electrically reconfigurable magnonic crystals).

Objectives

This WP will focus on the use of innovative ME procedures to control the magnetization of materials with voltage, eventually inducing transitions between ferromagnetic and non-FM states (ON-OFF magnetism) in transition metal oxides.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T6.1 To manipulate the magnetization of dense thin films and nanoporous alloys and oxide films with voltage via magneto-ionic effects, eventually leading to ON-OFF transitions.
• T6.2 To control the magnetic state of nano-objects with voltage (multiferroic/ surface charging/ magneto-ionic effects).
• T6.3 To achieve faster ion migration speeds while keeping low operation voltages (< 10 V).

Objectives

This WP focuses on the use of the direct ME effect to promote electric field-driven (i) anti-cancer drug delivery, (ii) cell electrofusion and (iii) deep neural (and muscle) wireless stimulation. All studies will be performed in-vitro using different cell lines. In parallel, the hardware and related bioelectronics needed to build a multi-channel ME stimulator system will be developed by some of the industrial partners of the Network. The goal of BeMAGIC is to have all materials characterized (including their cytotoxicity and biomedical effects) and the ME stimulation system ready in order to start in-vivo experiments right after the project.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T7.1 To demonstrate the efficiency of electric-field assisted drug delivery using magneto-pyroelectric nanoarchitectures.
• T7.2 To demonstrate the possibility to induce cell electrofusion using core-shell multiferroic nanoparticles.
• T7.3 To utilize magnetostrictive-piezoelectric particles for deep neural (and muscle) stimulation and development of the ME stimulator.

Objectives

This WP aims to provide, coordinate and monitor all training activities (local & Network-wide) of the recruited ESRs. Training will be performed via secondments (in academic or industrial partners), as well as during the BeMAGIC meetings (Summer and Winter Schools, BeMAGIC Workshops, joint BeMAGIC – IW-MAG Meetings, etc.), the local Host Institutions and through the VLE platform. Besides training on research methodologies (metrology, experimental techniques –synthesis and characterization–), this WP also aims at improving soft skills of the ESRs in aspects like writing of scientific papers, information retrieval, communication skills, commercialization of products, career planning, outreach, management, negotiation skills and intellectual property rights.

Description (list of tasks, T)

• T8.1 Coordinating and monitoring the recruitment process.
• T8.2 Preparing the PCDP and the questionnaires for the ESRs after each network-wide event.
• T8.3 Monitoring the progress of the training programme.
• T8.4 Organising the Network-wide Courses/Meetings and preparing the necessary training material.
• T8.5 Writing the Network-wide Meeting reports.
• T8.6 Writing the report on the continuous mentoring and scientific and soft skills evaluation of the ESRs.
• T8.7 Writing the report on dissemination and outreach.