About

The 3D MAGiC project aims at understanding the behavior and controlling of some of the least explored and most puzzling objects in nanomagnetism: three dimensional magnetic solitons.

 
 

Enabled by an erc synergy grant funded by the European Commission. 

Who We Are

  •
    Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH

    The Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, located in Germany, conducts research to provide comprehensive solutions to the grand challenges facing society in the fields of energy and environment, information and brain research in order to lay the foundation for the key technologies of tomorrow.

  •
    Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

    The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is one of the largest and most diverse universities in Germany that enjoys global eminence as a research-driven university. Its main core research areas are particle and hadron physics, the materials sciences and translational medicine.

  •
    Radboud University Nijmegen

    The Radboud University is a private university located in the Netherlands focusing on strong and broadly defined disciplines and their cooperation, aiming at sustainability in research, education, and business operations. 

What We Do

Over the past 150 years, many of the greatest questions in physics, spanning astronomical dimensions to quarks, have addressed how particles can emerge in continuous fields.

 

We will open a window into the behavior and control of some of the least explored and most puzzling objects in nanomagnetism: three-dimensional (3D) magnetic solitons (MSs).

 

These are spatially localized stable magnetization textures that have particle-like properties and are expected to move and interact in 3D in magnetic crystals and heterostructures in a similar manner to ordinary particles. Until now, their theoretical study has been restricted to simple models.

 

The experimental study of individual 3D MSs is nearly unexplored.

 

This is a result of their deep-sub-micron size and a current lack of suitable characterization techniques. We bring together four complementary research groups with expertise in theoretical descriptions of magnetism, device physics and magnetic characterization with high spatial and temporal resolution. Methodological breakthroughs by the partners will enable new fundamental theoretical and experimental insights into the nucleation, stability, dynamics and transport of 3D MSs, which are predicted to be influenced strongly by their  nontrivial topology. Particular attention will be paid to the manner in which 3D MSs can be controlled and manipulated dynamically.

 

This project will open the field of 3D magnetization textures at the nanoscale to fundamental science.

 

3D MSs are foreseen to play the role of information carriers that can move freely in any spatial direction and to offer a key advance over conventional 2D magnetization textures. Results from the project will provide guidelines for their use in applications that include magnetic storage technology and neuromorphic information processing systems and enable the realization of pervasive new 3D device concepts.

Magnetic hopfions in real magnetic materials
  • Establishment of a material-specific model for magnetic hopfions. Assessment of static, dy-
    namic and transport properties of magnetic hopfions and their interaction with electrons.
  • Computational search of hopfion-hosting magnetic materials using high-throughput ab initio
    calculations. Development of a spin-lattice model.
  • Simulation of electron optical phase images and electron energy-loss spectra of hopfions for
    comparison with experimental results obtained using off-axis electron holography and EMCD.
  • Experimental observation of hopfions in ferromagnets using off-axis electron holography.
  • Experimental observations of hopfions in antiferromagnets using EMCD.

EU funded

3D MAGiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 856538 (ERC-2019-SyG).

 

We would like to thank the European Union for making our project possible. We recognise their important function in promoting the advancement of knowledge and in helping to establish fruitful international long-term relationships involving institutions and companies.