Collaborative Research: FEC: Spin Control via Topology, Symmetry and Dimensionality

This project will investigate new, ultra-low-energy ways to control electron spin, a property that underlies memory, sensing, and quantum information technologies. Combining materials science, physics, and engineering, the project will develop magnetic materials that switch states using only electrical pulses, explore a newly discovered class of magnetic materials called altermagnets that respond to light, and study how light can control spin in nanoscale semiconductor structures. These advances will benefit industries that depend on low-power computer memory and quantum sensing, while helping address the growing energy demands of electronics. The project will build sustained research capacity in West Virginia and Delaware and benefit the nation’s technology workforce. West Virginia University leads the effort in partnership with the University of Delaware, training graduate and undergraduate students across both institutions and expanding STEM education through university coursework and public outreach. This project will investigate low-energy mechanisms for controlling electron spin relevant to next-generation memory, opto-spintronic, and quantum information technologies. Three integrated research thrusts will be pursued: engineering epitaxial oxide heterostructures capable of magnetic-field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization via spin-orbit torque; identifying and characterizing altermagnetic materials whose symmetry-driven spin splitting enables optical control of spin without net magnetization; and probing the coupling between confined electron spins and dopant spins in erbium-doped III-V quantum dots using polarization- and time-resolved optical spectroscopy. Molecular beam epitaxy synthesis, synchrotron-based spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and device-relevant transport measurements will be integrated with density-functional-theory-based modeling to establish predictive structure-symmetry-spin relationships. The project will strengthen shared research infrastructure across West Virginia University and the University of Delaware, including materials growth, nanofabrication, and characterization facilities, and will integrate research outcomes directly into graduate and undergraduate training, cross-institutional mentoring, and industry partnerships supporting a sustained STEM workforce pipeline in semiconductors and quantum materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.