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The project's ambition and the main aim is to expand the scope of the involved teams' research and to explore new opportunities in the areas of physics and technology that are likely to see a rapid development in the years to come. This will be achieved through a series of adventurous collaborative proof-of-concept studies that have potential to underpin future research directions in magnetic metamaterials and magnonic devices as well as associated technologies. Thereby, the main general objectives of MagIC are to advance the state-of-the-art of the multidisciplinary research field of the wave dynamics in magnetic nanostructures and to explore the interdisciplinary and innovative ideas combining their multifunctional properties with nanoscale integration, aimed at increasing their prospects for technological applications. These research goals will be achieved in a collaborative effort of four EU and three Ukrainian teams with complementary expertise, based on the staff exchange and network-wide activities, which will provide tools for knowledge sharing, brainstorming and developing new ideas, as well as for career development of young researchers. The research will be conducted within three broad areas constituting the three research Work Packages (WP1, WP2 and WP3) supplemented with two WPs dedicated for dissemination (WP4) and networking (WP5) activities listed in Table B3. The research WPs are devoted to:

The specific research objectives in each area, as defined below, aim to push the limits of knowledge in magnonics, crossing the borders between magnonics and photonics, magnonics and phononics, magnonics and spintronics, and exploring multidisciplinary innovative ideas for advancing science and technology.


WP1. (AMU, UNEXE, UPV-EHU, IFM-PAN, DONNU, DIPE, IMAG)

Spatially periodic media supporting the propagation of various kinds of waves (electromagnetic, elastic or electronic) have been a focus of the major research interest in and a driving force of the entire field of photonics, phononics or plasmonics during the recent years [1][2][3][4][5]. In particular, artificial magnonic crystals, i.e. spatially periodic magnetic media supporting the propagation and control of spin waves, have become a driving force of the field of magnonics [6][7]. The linear magnetisation dynamics observed in such systems are widely described based on the Bloch theorem [8]. However, the most recent investigations of magnonic crystals have brought a number of important challenges that could not be addressed without expanding both the experimental and theoretical tools far beyond the current state of the art [9]. The main challenges addressed in MagIC in this area are the limited sensitivity of current experimental tools for detecting complex spin wave dynamics in periodic structures, the energy dissipation and performance stability in magnetic nanostructures. These issues limit prospective technological applications of magnonic crystals themselves and realization of an efficient spin-wave mediated transport and control of microwave signals at the nanoscale. Thus, the objective here is: To create tools which allow to realize the opportunities offered by magnonic crystals for the minimisation of energy dissipation in magnonic devices and to devise magnetic nanostructures for efficient spin-wave mediated propagation and control of microwaves signals.


WP2. (AMU, UNEXE, UPV-EHU, IFM-PAN, DONNU, DIPE, IMAG)

Despite the prominent role of magnonic crystals in magnonics [6][7][9], non-periodic structures and local properties may be of even more importance for its future development towards applications. In fact, realistic structures are never infinite and often have defects of periodicity, manifested by either randomisation of the structure (i.e. a size distribution of elements in the array) or the presence of local defects. Moreover, even in regular crystals, the local properties, such as the boundary conditions at the interfaces between constituents and properties of the scattering centres, often determine crucial for applications properties of the magnonic band structure [10]. The experimental studies of the associated wave effects are in the embryonic stage, while the available theoretical models (mainly based on the so-called exchange approximation, perhaps the simplest approximation in magnonics) are far from providing a guide for the experimental activities.
The transition from investigations of periodic to aperiodic structures will not only advance science but will also be a highly innovative in nanoscale [11][12][13]. A relevant prominent example is given by fractal antennas, which have already found applications in radiofrequency (RF) wave and microwave technologies and are offering new functionalities and enhanced performance [14]. In magnonics, the field of fractal studies is almost unexplored and limited to multi-layered structures [15]. However, the rich response spectra of magnonic fractal structures combined with their reprogrammability promise interesting innovations in both physics and technology of the spin wave phenomena. To fill these gaps in knowledge the objectives in this area are: Experimental demonstration of theoretical predictions for spin-wave scattering from structural defects and structure boundaries. Development a concept of the thin film magnonic fractal structures with designed responses to external excitations, as desired for microwave applications.


WP3. (AMU, UNEXE, UPV-EHU, IFM-PAN, DONNU, DIPE, IMAG)

This work package will focus on the search for novel research directions by exploring the interdisciplinary interfaces between magnonics and other fields of modern science and technology, the selection of which is determined by the expertise of the teams participating in the Project, i.e., magnonics, photonics, magneto-photonics and phononics. Such multidisciplinary fields of research are at an early stage of their development but have already shown marked potential for discovery of new phenomena and creation of potential applications [6]. At the same time, magnonics' sister-fields of photonics and phononics have already witnessed the birth of such new research directions as development of optomechanic and phoxonic systems [16][17][18]. This area of MagIC comprises activities aiming to explore new seed corn interdisciplinary ideas that may be developed into new full-bodied research directions in a longer-term perspective, possibly with support of further funding. Thus the objective of MagiC in this area is: Demonstration of multifunctional magnonic device properties of which stem from coexistence of magnonics and phononics, or magnonics and electromagnetic radiation, or magnonic and electric conductivity within the same sample.
Relevance of the research to the scope of the call. The research oriented to achieve the objectives defined above will be conducted within the international collaboration combining join efforts of theoreticians and experimentalists under the development of the key ideas for advances of magnonics and innovations for microwave and spintronic technology, by designing, theoretical investigation and subsequent experimental implementation and testing of novel magnonic crystals, thereby paving ground for their eventual commercialisation. Especially, the proposed research is aimed at international studies of the spin wave dynamics in periodic and non-periodic magnetic nanostructures to resolve principal questions of magnonics, i.e., “for the advancement of science” and develops new ideas for microwave and RF technology, i.e., “the development of innovation”. The ideas for new directions of interdisciplinary research will be developed and tested within the MagIC project. The advanced theoretical studies will combine the expertise of international teams from various fields, providing the space for knowledge sharing and advancement of science. These investigations are in line with the main objective of RISE: “The RISE scheme will promote international and inter-sector collaboration through research and innovation staff exchanges, and sharing of knowledge and ideas from research to market (and vice-versa) for the advancement of science and the development of innovation.”

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