News 2017

MecaQ Workshop in Paris

On the 13th, Prof. Poggio participated in the 2nd annual Opto- and Nanomechanics Research Group (MecaQ) Meeting in Paris. In the afternoon, he gave a talk entitled, “Mechanical sensing of nanomagnetic systems”.

End-of-year Group Dinner

On Friday the 8th, the group held its annual end-of-year dinner. This time, the dinner was organized by Ph.D. student Marcus Wyss and was held at the Tapadera restaurant in down-town Basel. Thanks to all for a good time!

Group Members in Augsburg

On the 4th and 5th, Dr. Boris Groß and Prof. Poggio visited the Insitut für Physik at the University of Augsburg. There they were hosted by the new chair of the Experimentalphysik V division, Prof. István Kézsmárki. Ongoing collaborations were discussed and Prof. Kézsmárki gave a tour and overview of the divisions research aims. On the afternoon of the 5th, Prof. Poggio gave a talk entitled, “Nanomechanics and nanomagnetism” as part of the TRR80 Seminar series.

Block Course Underway

Our ‘Block Course’ entitled, “Measurement, Control, & Acquisition” started for students of the Nanoscience Curriculum. Dr. Floris Braakman, Dr. Boris Groß, and Ph.D. student Thibaud Ruelle, who all developed the course last year, are teaching it again this year. The course takes a look at problems in data acquisition and measurement control using modern and widely available micro-controllers.

Prof. Wolfgang Wernsdorfer in Basel

On Friday the 1st, Prof. Wolfgang Wernsdorfer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) visited the department and gave the departmental Colloquium on the invitation of Prof. Poggio. His talk was entitled, “Operating quantum states in single magnetic molecules”. Before and after his talk, Prof. Wernsdorfer visited a number of research groups in the department.

Prof. Poggio at TecDay in Lugano

On the 29th, Prof. Poggio took part in the TecDay at the Liceo Cantonale di Lugano 1. The event, organized by the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) aims to give high school students the chance to hear talks by researchers and others working in high-tech from both universities and industry. A wide variety of subjects are offered, especially focusing on the latest advances in natural and technical sciences. Prof. Poggio’s contribution, entitled “Nanotecnologia: come e perché”, sought to describe the growing field of nanotechnology, its goals, and its applications. More generally, the talk discussed the role that size plays in determining the behavior and function of an object. Prof. Poggio gave three 90 minute talks to a total of around 60 high school school students of all levels. A program of the TecDay can be found here.

Album Release Party

On Saturday the 25th, Ph.D. student and rock-star Marcus Wyss and his band n.eo released their first album. The release party was held at the Rockfact Music Club in Münchenstein with many group members in attendance. This photo is by Ph.D. student Alessio Campo, from the Zardo group.

Kick-off Meeting of new Sinergia Collaboration

On Thursday the 9th, our new Sinergia collaboration funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation held its kick-off meeting at EPFL. This network, entitled “Nanoskyrmionics”, is headed by Prof. Dirk Grundler (EPFL) and includes 3 other nodes, each led by a principal investigator: Dr. Jonathan White (PSI), Prof. Oleg Yazyev (EPFL), and Prof. Poggio (Basel).  The collaboration aims to do materials discovery and nanoengineering of magnetic skyrmions. From our group, Ph.D. students Simon Philipp and Giulio Romagnoli attended and gave short talks on their latest activity. Prof. Poggio was also in attendance.

Electric-Field Sensing with a Scanning Fiber-Coupled Quantum Dot

On the 30th, Physical Review Applied published our paper entitled, Electric field sensing with a scanning fiber-coupled quantum dot, as a letter. Over the years, a number of nanoscale electric-field sensors that can image single surface charges have been developed. Due to intrinsic limitations of their electrical or mechanical detection schemes, however, most operate at frequencies below 1 kHz. This study presents a scanning sensor based on an optically active semiconductor quantum dot, combining exquisite sensitivity and nanoscale resolution with high bandwidth. In addition to demonstrating the sensor’s feasibility, the authors lay out the improvements required to take its performance to the physical limit, to measure charging dynamics and individual tunneling events in few-electron and mesoscopic systems.

The experiments were led by Ph.D. student Davide Cadeddu in our lab with key contributions from Dr. Mathieu Munsch, working in Prof. Richard Warburton’s group. Ph.D. student Nicola Rossi in our lab also worked on the project. Dr. Julien Claudon and Dr. Jean-Michel Gérard from CNRS in Grenoble developed the quantum dot samples, which were crucial for the study.

Group Members in Trieste

From the 25th to the 29th, Dr. Boris Groß and Prof. Poggio attended the Foundations and Applications of Nanomechanics conference at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. The program highlighted recent experimental and theoretical breakthroughs in nanomechanics, optomechanics, electromechanics, sensing, photonic and phononic crystals, surface-acoustic waves, microwave-to-optics conversion, and quantum effects. Prof. Poggio gave an invited talk on the 26th entitled, “Mechanical sensing of nanomagnetic systems”.

Basel-Zürich 1-0

On Saturday the 23rd, group members took another trip to Sankt Jacob-Park to watch FC Basel take on a team from a neighboring city. From the Muttenzerkurve, we enjoyed watching the local team win the game 1-0.

Physics I For Biologists Starts

On Thursday the 21st, the lecture “Physics I for Biologists, Geoscientists, and Pharmaceutical Scientists” began and will run until Friday, December 22nd. The exam is scheduled for February 2nd, 2017, 9:00 – 11:00. The lecture covers the basics of mechanics, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics for non-physics science bachelor students. Prof. Poggio is giving the lecture together with Prof. Michel Calame.

Ph.D. Student Marcus Wyss Plays Basel Rock Festival

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Ph.D. student and rock-star Marcus Wyss played Basel’s Jungend Kultur Festival 2017 with his band n.eo. Plenty of fans showed up, including several current and former group members. The band did not disappoint with a tight set of original music. Check them out at their next gigs in and around Basel.

Ph.D. Student Simon Philipp Wins Kickboxing World Championship

Ph.D. student Simon Philipp won the WKU heavyweight (>95 kg) title at the world kickboxing championship, which took place from the 26th to the 31st in Killarney, Ireland. Congratulations Simon!

Lab/Machine Shop BBQ

On Friday, August 25th we enjoyed our annual summer barbeque on the department roof-top with our colleagues in the Machine Shop. A good time was had by all.  Thanks especially to everyone who organized and helped to clean up.

Group Members at Monte Verità

Dr. Floris Braakman and Ph.D. student Thibaud Ruelle attended the Conference on Quantum Nanophotonics at the Centro Stefano Franscini in Monte Verità, Switzerland from the 20th to the 25th. The program included contributions on quantum plasmonics, quantum optomechanics, strongly coupled systems, quantum metrology and sensing, and quantum state engineering. Both Floris and Thibaud presented posters entitled, “Nanowire force microscopy and dynamic cantilever magnetometry” and “Experimental setup for combined cavity optomechanics and QED”, respectively.

Imaging Magnetic Vortices in Ferromagnetic Nanotubes

On the 17th, Physical Review B published our paper entitled, Imaging magnetic vortex configurations in ferromagnetic nanotubes. The manuscript describes x-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy (XMCD-PEEM) experiments imaging the remnant magnetization configurations of CoFeB and permalloy nanotubes (NTs). The images provide direct evidence for flux-closure configurations, including a global vortex state, in which magnetization points circumferentially around the NT axis. Furthermore, micromagnetic simulations predict and measurements confirm that vortex states can be programmed as the equilibrium remnant magnetization configurations by reducing the ratio of the NT’s length and diameter.

The experiments were led by Ph.D. student Marcus Wyss in our lab. Ph.D. student Andrea Mehlin and post-doc Dr. Boris Groß were also key members of the experimental team. Dr. Armin Kleibert and his group from the PSI contributed their XMCD-PEEM expertise, while the groups of Prof. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral and Prof. Dirk Grundler fabricated the NT samples.

Coupling a Nano-trumpet with a Quantum Dot

On the 14th, Nature Communications published our paper entitled, Resonant driving of a single photon emitter embedded in a mechanical oscillator. The work was led by Dr. Mathieu Munsch in the Warburton Group with Ph.D. student Davide Cadeddu from our group playing a central role in modeling and understanding the mechanical modes of the trumpet. The research shows the coupling of a single quantum dot with a trumpet-shaped nanowire. The movement of the nanowire can be detected with a sensitivity of 100 femtometers via the wavelength of the light emitted by the quantum dot. Conversely, the oscillation of the nanowire can be influenced by excitation of the quantum dot with a laser. More information is available in a news piece by the University of Basel Press Office.

Group Members at Coma-ruga 2017

From the 2nd to the 7th, Ph.D. students Lorenzo Ceccarelli and Giulio Romagnoli and Prof. Poggio attended the 13th International Workshop on Magnetism & Superconductivity at the Nanoscale (Coma-ruga 2017) in Coma-ruga, Spain. Topics of the workshop included all areas of nanomagnetic and superconducting research: spintronics, novel magnetic and superconducting phases, and low-dimensional systems. Lorenzo presented a poster on the 4th entitled, “Direct imaging of a vortex state in short CoFeB nanotubes by scanning SQUID”, while Prof. Poggio gave a talk on the 6th entitled, “Magnetization configurations and reversal in ferromagnetic nanotubes”.

Prof. Poggio in Grenoble

Prof. Poggio visited Néel Institute at the CNRS in Grenoble from the 29th to the 30th to give a seminar and participate in the jury of the Ph.D. defense of Laure Mercier de Lépinay, carried out in the group of Dr. Olivier Arcizet. Hosted by Dr. Arcizet and Dr. Benjamin Pigeau, Prof. Poggio’s talk on the afternoon of the 29th was entitled, “Nanomechanics and Nanomagnetism”. Ms. Mercier de Lépinay’s thesis was entitled, “Habillage mécanique d’un nanofil par un champ de force: de la mesure vectorielle ultrasensible aux systèmes quantiques hybrides”.

BBQ at the Birsköpfli

On the 25th, group members and friends met up for a barbeque at the Birsköpfli park along the Rhine river. There was food, beer, music, swimming, games, and good vibes. Thanks to everyone for a fun time in the sun!

Ph.D. Student Benedikt Herzog Graduates

On the 23rd, Ph.D. student Benedikt Herzog successfully defended his thesis, earning his physics doctorate magna cum laude. The examination was chaired by Prof. Patrick Maletinsky with Prof. Poggio and Prof. Ernst Meyer making up the committee. Ben has been part of the lab since starting as a Masters student in April of 2011. From the beginning, he dedicated himself to a particularly challenging experiment: magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM). During his time in the group Ben became an expert in all aspects of MRFM including preparing samples, producing ‘microwires’, aligning the microscope, programming complex pulse sequences, and designing measurement protocols. Ben was particularly successful at experiments investigating the transition between regimes dominated by thermal and statistical polarization in nanometer-scale ensembles of nuclear spins. Congratulations to Dr. Herzog, we will miss you, and good luck!

Ph.D. Student Andrea Mehlin Graduates

On the 21st, Ph.D. student Andrea Mehlin successfully defended her thesis and earned her physics doctorate summa cum laude. The examination was chaired by Prof. Ilaria Zardo with Prof. Poggio and Dr. Thomas Mühl (IFW Dresden) making up the committee. Andrea joined the lab in September of 2011 as a Masters student and stayed on for her Ph.D.  After working on experiments investigating the coupling of mesoscopic transport to mechanical motion, Andrea took over measurements of nanometer-scale magnets using dynamic cantilever magnetometry (DCM). After successful experiments investigating the skyrmion phase in MnSi nanowires with Dr. Fei Xue, she went on to collaborate with Dr. Boris Groß on building a new measurement system and investigating further magnetic nanostructures. She will be deeply missed in the lab both as an excellent scientist and person. Congratulations to Dr. Mehlin and good luck for the future!

Boris Groß in San Sebastian

From the 19th to the 23rd, post-doc Dr. Boris Groß took part in the Sol-SkyMag (Solitons and Skyrmion Magnetism) 2017 conference on magnetism and spintronics. The conference was held in San Sebastian, Spain and serves to assess the status, recent progress, and development in the field of nanomagnetism and spintronics. The conference provides an international forum to discuss recent progress and trends in the field and to identify potential future collaborations. In particular, it aims to bring together the community of leading researchers working the area of nanomagnetism, spin dynamics, spin-transport, etc., and their applications. Boris gave a talk on Tuesday the 20th entitled, “Néel-type skyrmions in multiferroic lacunar spinels – Mapping out a stability phase diagram using dynamic cantilever magnetometry”.

Prof. Poggio in Ulm

On the 19th, Prof. Poggio visited the Physics Department of Ulm University. He gave the a talk entitled, “Nanomechanics and Nanomagnetism” at the Department’s colloquium.

Nicola Rossi in Japan

Ph.D student Nicola Rossi visited Japan to attend SpinTech IX in Fukuoka and to visit the group of Prof. Teruo Ono at Kyoto University. On Tuesday the 6th, Nicola gave a talk entitled, “Torque magnetometry of individual GaAs nanowires with ferromagnetic MnAs tips”, at SpinTech IX. On Monday the 12th, he gave a longer version of the same talk for the group seminar of Prof. Ono. SpinTech IX highlighted fundamental physical phenomena related to spin-dependent effects in condensed matter and advances in the development of new spintronic materials, structures, and devices, including quantum technologies.

Swiss NanoMRI Meeting

On Wednesday the 7th, group members attended the 2017 Swiss NanoMRI Meeting on the Hönggerberg campus of ETH Zürich. Members of the Degen (ETHZ), Bachtold (ICFO), and Novotny (ETHZ) groups also took part. Talks covered topics related to sensitive force-detected magnetic resonance, nanometer-scale magnetic resonance imaging, mechanical sensing, and magnetic imaging. Dr. Denis Vasyukov and Ph.D. student Davide Cadeddu both gave talks entitled, “Applications of nanoSQUIDs” and “Electric field sensing with a scanning fiber-coupled quantum dot”, respectively. Dr. Floris Braakman, Lorenzo Ceccarelli, Simon Philipp, Giulio Romagnoli, and Prof. Poggio were also in attendance from our group. Special thanks to Dr. Alex Eichler for organizing a great workshop!

Swiss Nanotechnology Award

On Friday the 2nd, Ph.D. student Nicola Rossi was awarded the Swiss Nanotechnology Award for his first author publication, Vectorial scanning force microscopy using a nanowire resonator. The prize was awarded on Friday afternoon at the 2017 Swiss Nanoscience Convention in Fribourg. Prof. Poggio accepted the award on behalf of Nicola and all of the paper’s authors: Dr. Floris Braakman, Davide Cadeddu, Dr. Denis Vasyukov, Gözde Tütüncüoglu, and Prof. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral. The award was offered by the The Swiss Micro- and Nanotechnology (MNT) Network and sponsored by ABB.

Trends in Nanoscience 2017

Prof. Poggio attended the “Trends in Nanoscience 2017” symposium, which took place in Irsee, Germany from the 27th to the 30th. The conference, organized by colleagues from the University of Konstanz, included 31 invited talks and 2 poster sessions withcontributions on nanoelectronics, nanomechanics, nanooptics, and magnetic nanostructures. Prof. Poggio gave an invited talk, entitled “Force Sensing with Nanowires” on the 27th. A program can be found here.

Basel-Zürich 3-1

On Thursday the 2nd, group members went to Sankt Jacob-Park to watch FC Basel take on an inferior team from one of the neighboring cities. From the Muttenzerkurve, everyone had a good time watching the local team win the game 3-1 and advance to the semifinals of this year’s Swiss Cup.

Fundamental Electronics Begins

Prof. Poggio’s course entitled Fundamental Electronics is now underway. Lectures are Wednesdays, 14.00-16.00 in 3.12. The practical sessions take place in two sessions on Mondays 15.15-17.15 and Thursdays 09.00-11.00 both in 3.12.

Group Members at Spin Mechanics 4

From the 20th to the 25th, Post-docs Dr. Floris Braakman, Dr. Boris Gross, Dr. Denis Vasyukov and Ph.D. students Marcus Wyss and Lorenzo Ceccarelli attended Spin Mechanics 4 in Lake Louise, Canada. The meeting brought together researchers working on spin mechanics from all different perspectives with the goal of stimulating further progress in the understanding and control of coupled spin-mechanical-optical-electronic systems. On the 21st and 23rd, Boris, Marcus, and Lorenzo presented posters entitled, “Dynamic Cantilever Magnetometry On Individual Magnetic Nanoparticles”, “Imaging vortex magnetization configurations in ferromagnetic nanotubes by XMCD-PEEM”, and “Direct imaging of a vortex state in short CoFeB nanotubes by scanning SQUID”, respectively. On the 24th, Floris represented the group with an invited talk entitled, “Nanowire force microscopy and dynamic cantilever magnetometry”. A full program can be found here.

Ryuichi Ohta Visits the Lab

On the 14th, Dr. Ryuichi Ohta of NTT Basic Research Laboratories in Japan visited our lab. Dr. Ohta works in the Hybrid Nanostructure Physics Research Group led by Dr. Hiroshi Yamaguchi.

Group Members at FNS 2017

Ph.D. students Thibaud Ruelle, Nicola Rossi, and Prof. Poggio attended “Frontiers of Nanomechanical Systems (FNS) 2017” in La Thuile, Italy from the 5th to the 10th. The conference was the first meeting in a new series on nanomechanical resonators. The conference focused on all aspects  of nanomechanical resonators, including mechanical nonlinearities, out-of-equilibrium phenomena, dissipation, noise, sensing applications, and the coupling of mechanical vibrations to other degrees of freedom, such as electrons, nuclear spins, photons, and phonons. Thibaud and Nicola presented posters on their work on Wednesday the 8th entitled, “Experimental setup for combined cavity optomechanics and QED” and “Vectorial scanning force microscopy using a nanowire sensor”, respectively. Prof. Poggio gave an invited talk on the 10th entitled, “Mechanical Sensing of Nanomagnetic Systems”. A full program can be found here.

Two New Ph.D. Students Join Group

This month two new Ph.D. students joined our group. Both Simon Philipp and Giulio Romagnoli started work on the 1st. Simon has a Bachelors and Masters degree in phyiscs both from the University of Basel and will pursue his thesis project working on cantilever magnetometry experiments. Giulio earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in physics from the University of Pisa. For his thesis, he will begin working on our nanoSQUID experiments.

Poggio/Zardo Group Lunch

On Friday the 13th, together with the Zardo group, our group had our annual holiday dinner — at lunch time.  This year, due to scheduling conflicts, we decided to have our festive meal at the Restaurant Schnabel in Basel during lunch time. Thanks to all for a good time!