https://www.spintec.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plaquette_Spintec_2026.pdf
Context
Spin-orbitronic phenomena such as perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and spin-orbit torques (SOT) play a major role for development of industrial applications such as sensors and memory devices.1,2,3. Over the last decade, 2D materials such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) and associated van der Waals heterostructures including 2D magnets have become of major interest since they may serve as an efficient alternative to conventional ones (e.g., transition metals or oxides) used for development of aforementioned applications, giving rise to emergence of 2D spintronics4,5,6. Very recently, a new field of orbitronics has emerged that focuses on the control and use of the orbital angular momentum of electrons, in addition to or instead of their spin (as in spintronics) or charge (as in conventional electronics)7,8. This internship project aims at theoretical studies of orbitronic effects including Orbital Edelstein Effect (OEE) in nanostructures comprising both conventional and 2D materials, using ab initio calculations combined with tight-binding approach and linear response theory. In particular, by combining the OEE with its spin counterpart, i.e. Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE) that allows generating SOT to control the magnetization, the results of this work will help optimizing spintronic devices making thereby a significant contribution to the development of sustainable microelectronics.
1 B. Dieny and M. Chshiev, Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025008 (2017) [url]
2 A. Fert, M. Chshiev, A. Thiaville and H.-X. Yang, J. Phys. Soc Jpn. 92, 081001 (2023)
3 A. Manchon et al, Rev. Mod. Phys. 91, 035004 (2019)
4 S. Roche et al., 2D Mater. 2, 030202 (2015)
5 Q. H. Wang et al, ACS Nano 16, 6960 (2022)
6 H. Yang et al, Nature 606, 663 (2022)
7 D. Jo et al, npj Spintronics 2, 19 (2024)
8 S. A. Nikolaev, M. Chshiev, F. Ibrahim et al, Nano Lett. 24, 13465 (2024)
Work program & Skills acquired during internship
The selected candidate will set up supercells combining various van der Waals 2D materials with oxides and/or metals and will primarily perform ab initio calculations in order to find optimal material combinations ensuring optimal values of aforementioned phenomena. The calculations will be performed on Spintec computational cluster nodes using first-principles packages based on density functional theory (DFT) combined with other simulation techniques. Results obtained will be carefully analyzed with possibility of publication in international scientific journals. Strong collaboration with labs in France (CEA/LETI, Univ. of Montpellier, Aix-Marseille Univ…) and abroad (ICN2/Spain, Zhejiang Univ. China…) is previewed.
- Requested background: Master 2
- Duration: 6 months
- Start period: Feb/ March 2026
- Possibility of PhD thesis : YES