Skyrmion Project PhD studentship: Magnetic Skyrmions in thin Films.

Applications are invited for a Durham University 3.5 year fully funded PhD studentship in the growth and characterization of magnetic skyrmions in thin films to work with Professor Peter D. Hatton and Dr. Aidan Hindmarch in the Department of Physics at Durham University. The project is part of the UK nationally funded Skyrmion Project involving groups at Durham, Cambridge, Oxford, Southampton and Warwick universities. The full time studentship, includes a stipend of £14,140 per year, fees and support for research costs and conference travel.

The successful candidate will join the Skyrmion Project, a UK national consortium of eight academics in five different institutions which have secured £7M in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Universities and Industry project partners. This is an exciting opportunity to join a large national consortia for postgraduate research in the hottest area of magnetism and condensed matter physics and to undertake research in an area of national strategic importance.
The research student will undertake sputtering and pulsed laser deposition growth of thin films of skyrmionic materials. Structural and magnetic characterization will include x-ray and neutron reflectivity measurements, a.c magnetic susceptibility, Lorentz field transmission electron microscopy, magnetic field microscopy to study the dynamics and velocity of skyrmions in thin films and devices. The project will be jointly supervised by professor Peter D. Hatton and Dr.Aidan Hindmarch. There will be opportunities to travel and work with the other skyrmion project partners and industrial laboratories.

Applicants should have or expect to attain a good first or upper second class honours degree in physics, materials science or a related subject.

The closing date for applications is Thursday 1st February 2018. Please submit applications electronically via the Durham University, Department of Physics website https://www.dur.ac.uk/physics/postgraduate/prospectivestudents/.

The start date is October 2018. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to either Professor Peter Hatton ([Email Address Removed]) or Dr. Aidan Hindmarch ([Email Address Removed]).
Due to funding requirements the post is only open to UK and EU students