Overview
The project Theoretical Understanding of static and dynamic properties of Skyrmions: towards a skyrmion based technology (ThunderSKY) has received funding from the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT), under the HFRI's 1st Call in order to support the Postdoctoral Researchers with grant agreement No 871. This kind of project offers new scientists / postdoctoral researchers the possibility to become Scientific Coordinators of a research project, and create and lead their own research group.
ThunderSKY's goal is the establishment of a theoretical framework for the description of the statics and dynamics of skyrmions. Skyrmions are very attractive candidates for transporting information as well as promising unrivalled performance for a new generation of low-power devices.
However, recent experimental evidences have highlighted discrepancies and "missing pieces" of the theory and predictions developed up to date.
ThunderSKY aims at obtaining an understanding of the latest open questions arisen from the recent experimental measurements in ultrathin heterostructures. In order to accomplish the project's scientific objectives, ThunderSKY will use an integrated approach by combining analytical theories and numerical simulations, benchmarked against experimental data. Only an interdisciplinary approach, which includes ideas, tools, methods and concepts from mathematics, physics, computer science and electrical engineering allows for the realization of such an ambitious project. For this reason, the research team of ThunderSKY is made up of members with different expertises and will be completed by a Post-doctoral researcher and a M.Sc. student. ThunderSKY will be developed at the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) in Heraklion, Crete. However, an internal program of staff exchange within the duration of the project will be implemented to create a common background for the research activities.
ThunderSKY will not only improve the know-how of the people involved but also will harness Greek position in fundamental research and innovation, as well as strengthening the contribution of Greece for creating a "EU leadership in industrial nanotechnologies". We expect that the knowledge generated within the project will be a strong support and reference at the national and international level for the implementation of viable skyrmion-based spintronic applications. These applications could potentially sustain the internet of things and big data revolutions, thus replacing standard microelectronic devices, which are crucial enablers of today's IT technology.