EPSCoR Research Fellows: NSF: From Magnetic Competition to Function: Spontaneous Magnetization Reversal as a Design Principle

This Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) EPSCoR Research Fellows project provides a fellowship to an Associate Professor and training for a graduate student at West Virginia University. This work is conducted in collaboration with John Xiao and Ryan Comes at the University of Delaware. Through the fellowship, the PI will investigate how magnetic materials can be designed to switch their magnetic state using extremely small applied magnetic fields. The research combines physics, materials science, and engineering to better understand the fundamental processes that govern low-energy magnetic switching. The fellowship will establish capabilities in thin-film growth, device fabrication, and magnetic characterization at West Virginia University. These workflows will be provided to the university's shared research facilities and practiced with students within courses. Although developed to study magnetic materials, the resulting capabilities will also support future research across a broad range of quantum materials and advanced electronic systems. This project will investigate the mechanisms that enable spontaneous magnetization reversal and other competition-driven magnetic phenomena in correlated oxide thin films. The research will test whether near-degenerate magnetic states that support ultra-low-field switching can be engineered beyond manganites by establishing and studying epitaxial La₁₋ₓSrₓFeO₃ thin-film systems. The PI and graduate student will receive residency-based training at the University of Delaware in epitaxial growth, device fabrication, and characterization. These capabilities will be transferred to West Virginia University, where workflows will be distributed within shared research facilities. While optimized for magnetic oxides, the resulting materials-to-device infrastructure will provide a platform for future investigations of a wider range of materials. The project will compare magnetic behavior across related oxide systems to identify the factors responsible for competition-driven switching. The fellowship will strengthen faculty expertise in experimental condensed matter physics, expand student research training opportunities, support future curriculum and workforce development activities, and establish a durable materials-to-device platform that will enable future collaborations and competitive research programs in quantum materials. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Fellows (ERF), which supports early- and mid-career investigators in eligible jurisdictions to develop collaborations at the nation’s private, government or academic research institutions. 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.