PhD Studentship: Controlling Exotic Magnetic Order and Frustration in 2D Materials

Joint programme between the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) research nuclear reactor, Grenoble and the University of Birmingham. Experimental low-temperature physics focussed on lab-based crystal synthesis & characterisation followed by neutron scattering experiments to study the details of magnetic structures in exotic new 2D materials.

2D materials are the future. Graphene was just the beginning, and the possibilities before us now are endless. Our group aims to identify new unstudied new 2D materials, synthesise them and understand the full range of their properties.

This project is a joint studentship with Dr Andrew Wildes at the ILL, head of the newly-upgraded D007 beamline and Dr Matthew Coak, University of Birmingham Condensed Matter Physics Group, as part of the ILL’s competitive PhD studentships scheme. As a full resident employee of the ILL for half of the project duration you will receive a generous full staff salary, enjoy being part of a cohesive cohort of joint ILL students from across Europe with regular social and development events, and experience living in a cosmopolitan city at the foot of the French Alps. This scheme will allow you to build your research direction and establish a network of contacts and collaborators across Europe and is an excellent springboard into a career in neutron scattering or beyond.

The range of experience you will gain from this project will give you flexibility and independence in a future research career, whether within the academic system or outside. You will gain experience in laboratory skills, planning and running projects and experiments, hands-on design and manufacture of components, advanced data analysis and programming skills. You will work as part of a cohesive friendly team and as a part of the wider condensed matter group here at Birmingham and in Grenoble, with a close-knit structure and ongoing exposure to other groups and ideas.

This project aims to investigate the fundamentals of quantum magnetism in the (Transition-Metal)PS3 family of 2D crystals.

 The programme will be to:

• Grow a series of compounds of carefully-controlled chemical composition in our 2-zone furnaces.
• Characterize each with in-house X-ray, magnetisation and electrical conductivity measurements at cryogenic temperatures, in Birmingham.
• Measure their magnetic structure at the ILL research nuclear reactor in the South of France.
• Work with the rest of the D007 team on testing, commissioning and optimising this cutting-edge new neutron instrument, including demonstrating new sample environments such as ultra-high-pressure cells.
• Analyse complex data to unpack the microscopic details of the magnetism, and model the resulting configurations and their dynamics.

Please email Dr Matt Coak at m.j.coak@bham.ac.uk or Dr Andrew Wildes at wildes@ill.fr with any enquiries or to arrange an informal discussion.

The School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham is an Institute of Physics Juno Champion since 2014 and holder of the Athena SWAN Silver Award. Both initiatives recognise the School's commitment to promote diversity and equality, and to encourage better practice for all members of the community, whilst also working towards developing an equitable working culture in which all students and staff can achieve their full potential. We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, and encourage applications from traditionally under-represented groups in physics and astronomy including, but not limited to, women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.

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