This project supports collaborative research by Dr. Caroline Ross, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The collaborating scientist is Dr. Emad Girgis, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. They plan to study size and shape dependence of exchange bias in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic nanoparticles for high density data storage media.
Intellectual Merit: Exchange bias refers to the shift of the hysteresis loop of a magnetic material along the magnetic field axis caused by coupling to an antiferromagnetic material. Examples of such systems include oxidised cobalt particles where the cobalt oxide surface layer is the antiferromagnet, and thin film materials such as Co pinned with IrMn, which are used to produce sensor devices known as spin valves, used in magnetic read heads or magnetic random access memories. In the more than 40 years since its discovery, the phenomenon of exchange anisotropy has become the basis for important applications in information storage technology. The intellectual merit of this project is to understand better exchange bias in nanoscale magnetic materials. The project examines the effect of exchange bias in nanoscale magnetic structures of thin films and nanoparticles, and involves characterization in terms of the physical and magnetic microstructure which will be correlated to the magnetic performance of the materials.
Broader Impact: This project facilitates collaboration between a group of researchers in the US and a group in Egypt. It enables both the junior scientists and senior scientists to meet, exchange samples, and perform measurements on each other''s materials. The materials synthesis and measurement tools available to each group are complementary, and this collaborative program will enable both groups to benefit from the expertise of each other in a synergistic way.
This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.
