In the search for materials with which to build next-generation devices, the discovery of unexpected electronic and magnetic behavior at thin film interfaces has generated considerable excitement. Mismatches of bands, topology, symmetry, and interaction lengths in these low-dimensional materials offer exciting opportunities for tuning emergent behavior. However, these opportunities go hand-in-hand with unprecedented characterization challenges. This talk is intended as an introduction on how neutron scattering techniques can provide a unique view of nano scale materials that highlights the atomic-scale and interfacial structural and magnetic order. In particular, I will discuss polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) and neutron diffraction techniques. Already integral to the study of magnetism in thin films, PNR has recently emerged as the technique of choice for understanding interface effects in magnetic topological insulator hetero structures. Recent advances in the field of anti-ferromagnetic spintronics greatly benefit from the ability of high-angle neutron diffraction to directly observe and extract complex spin structures. This talk will discuss neutron scattering in the context of these recent experimental examples.
Biography:
Alex Grutter is an instrument scientist at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). Alex received his undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics (with a focus in Materials Science) from Case Western Reserve University in 2007. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, then spent 2014 and 2015 as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His current research efforts are split between engineering new magnetic systems at the nano scale and working on CANDOR, the next-generation polarized neutron reflectometer at the NCNR.
