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6th European School on Multiferroics (ESMF6)

July 21-26, 2013
Leucorea, Wittenberg (Germany)

Programme is now online!

ESMF6 Programme
ESMF6_Programme.pdf (189.9 KB)  vom 22.05.2013

See here for abstracts!

Scope / Motivation

Both mag­net­ic and ferro­­electric ma­te­rials play a vital role in modern technolo­­gies. Be­­sides the tra­ditional uti­lization of mag­net­ic forces, examples include mem­o­ry devices in which information is stored in the ori­entation of magneti­zation in ferro­­magnets or polarization in ferro­­electrics. The structural dis­tortion that accompa­­nies ferro­­electricity or ferro­­magnetism is exploited in sens­ing and actuating devices.

Mul­ti­­ferroics are ma­te­rials with si­­multane­­ous pres­ence of mag­net­ic and ferro­­electric or­ders. The magneto­­electric coupling of the two or­der pa­ram­e­ters pro­­vides fas­­cinating new phe­nom­ena and functionalities, the most well-known example be­ing the low-power electric-field con­trol of magneti­zation. While magneto­­electric phe­nom­ena have been discussed since the 60ies of the 20th centu­ry, only the re­­cent decade has seen tremendous progress in theo­ry and design of ma­te­rials. New single-phase mul­ti­­ferroics have been discovered fol­lowing the identification of new coupling mech­a­nisms. Thin film and nanos­truc­­ture fab­rication have pro­­vided access to a wide spectrum of mul­ti­phase systems where a mag­net­ic and a ferro­­electric compo­nent are coupled at interfaces. The combination of two dom­inant electron­ic ma­te­rials technolo­­gies has an enor­­mous po­­tential for transformative device applications.

ESMF6 is the 6th in a se­ries of Eu­ropean Schools on Mul­ti­­ferroics, with pre­vi­ous Schools held in As­cona, L´Aquila, Gronin­gen, Girona and Greno­ble. It aims to cre­ate a teach­ing platform for junior research­ers in the mul­ti­­ferroics community, in which funda­­mentals, experi­­mental techniques and re­­cent devel­op­­ments are discussed. By uniting members of the mag­net­ic and ferro­­electric communities with their partially differ­ent languages and tra­ditions we aim to promote in­ter­disciplinary collab­orations and spawn new research di­rections.

ESMF6 takes place in the histor­ical envi­ron­­ment of the city center of Wittenberg, where Mar­tin Luther taught at one of the first uni­versities in Germany and pub­lished his fa­­mous 95 theses.

Conference Themes

The ESMF schools have all had different emphases to reflect current areas of interest. The focus areas for ESMF6 are:

1. Multiferroic thin films and nanostructures, properties of their domains and domain walls
2. The coupling mechanisms at interfaces between ferroelectrics and magnets
3. Experimental techniques for the characterization of magnetic and ferroelectric thin films and bulk materials
4. The coexistence and cross-coupling between long-range orders (magnetic, dipolar, ferroelastic, toroidal) in single phases
5. The search for new materials showing strong magneto-electric coupling and / or multiferroicity
6. Perspectives for multifunctional applications, including electrically controllable spintronic devices and new ideas beyond electric-field control of magnetization.

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