Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS, Thales, Université Paris-Saclay (UMPhy), Palaiseau

UMPhy is a joint laboratory between CNRS and Thales Group, associated with Université Paris-Saclay, and located within Thales Research & Technology (TRT) research center in Palaiseau. The creation of UMPhy in 1995 formalized an existing collaboration dating back some ten years between Albert Fert's team at the Université Paris-Sud and a team from TRT (at the time Thomson-CSF). This collaboration, focused on studies of magnetic metallic multilayers, had first led to the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) in 1988, the object of the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Albert Fert in 2007. It also led to the development of the field of research that is now called spintronics. In this field, the research carried out in the laboratory since its creation has led to numerous advances, both experimental and theoretical, particularly in the study of the spin-dependent tunneling effect, magnetic nanowires or spin injection effects. The study of heterostructures combining magnetic and semiconductor materials, organic materials and graphene, as well as the study of spin transfer, are recent research directions currently under development. UMPhy's work has also led to the development of applications, particularly in the field of magnetic sensors. UMPhy is also developing fundamental and applied research in other fields such as high critical temperature superconductivity (HTS), oxytronics, and cognitive information processing. In direct link with the project, the UMPhy develops within its transverse axis "Materials and nanotechnologies" innovative instrumentation in particular in the field of near-field microscopy.

Laboratoire de Physique des Solides (LPS), Orsay

LPS is a joint unit between the CNRS and the Université Paris-Saclay, located in Orsay. A highly recognized laboratory in condensed matter physics, it is divided into three research axes: new physics of the electronic states of matter, nanophysics and soft matter physics. The IDMAG group (Imaging and Dynamics in Magnetism) led by André Thiaville is part of the Nanophysics axis and studies the dynamics of magnetic textures such as domain walls, magnetic vortices and more recently skyrmions. This team has a long experience in magnetic imaging ranging from magneto-optical imaging to scanning probe imaging (magnetic force microscopy and ballistic electron tunneling microscopy), as well as in the development of micromagnetic simulations and analytical models for magnetization dynamics in magnetic textures. The IDMAG group has been very active in recent years in the study of the effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI) on the dynamics of magnetic textures and the emergence of magnetic skyrmions.

Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies (C2N), Palaiseau

Created on June 1, 2016,  C2N was born from the joint decision of the CNRS and the Université Paris-Saclay to merge and regroup on the same site the Laboratory of Photonics and Nanostructures (LPN) and the Institute of Fundamental Electronics (IEF). The creation of the C2N on the Saclay Plateau is an ambitious project. The Center must take advantage of its location, which is very favorable to exchanges with academic laboratories and with R&D in the local industrial fabric. It should bring together former IEF and LPN teams and bring together critical forces in key research areas. It must meet two main inseparable objectives: (i) to constitute a flagship laboratory for research in Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies, (ii) to provide the Plateau de Saclay and the Ile-de-France region with a large Technology Center open to all academic and industrial players in the field, in particular the people of the Paris region.
The center with more than 400 members develops research in the fields of materials, nanophotonics, nanoelectronics, nano-bio-technologies and microsystems, as well as nanotechnologies. On these subjects, it deals with both fundamental and applied aspects. Its strong activity in instrumentation makes C2N a world-class player in the development of new instruments for nanotechnologies. With these instruments, nano-objects are realized, analyzed and measured with ultimate spatio-temporal control and resolution. These instruments are also developed and marketed in partnership with leading equipment manufacturers in the field. The spintronics activity is one of the major axes of the Nanoelectronics department and involves more than 30 people. It ranges from the development of advanced materials to the realization of innovative architectures for applications (memories, logic, bio-inspired circuits).

Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé (SPEC), Gif sur Yvette

SPEC is a joint unit between CEA (DRF/IRAMIS) and  CNRS. The physics of condensed matter is studied at the SPEC from its most fundamental aspects to applications in appropriate cases. The approaches are extremely varied and allow the exploration of worlds ranging from the nano scale to macroscopic objects. The team involved in the IMAGeSPIN project is specialized in nanomagnetism and electrical transport at the nanoscale as well as in highly correlated oxides. The latter work began in the late 1990s with studies on the manganite family. More recently, this team has focused on multiferroics around the compound BiFeO3, synthesized as high quality single crystals. In particular, neutron diffraction studies have revealed the magneto-electric coupling between the ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic orders, followed by exchange coupling with a ferromagnetic layer. This work has motivated their interest in antiferromagnetics, which represent the core of our current research and whose latest development concerns second harmonic imaging. More broadly, the partner SPEC develops an important activity around 'magnetic sensors' for ultra-sensitive magnetic field measurements, applied to NMR, biology (magnetoencephalography) and versatile sensors for industry (automotive in particular).

Synchrotron SOLEIL, Gif sur Yvette

Thales Research & Technology (TRT), Palaiseau