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The University of Southampton
Engineering

Research project: Computational Micromagnetics

Currently Active: 
Yes

Micromagnetics is a model for the behaviour of magnetisation at the nanoscale, and commonly used to support research in application areas ranging from biosensing and healthcare to fundamental materials development in academia and magnetic recording device development in industry.

Southampton has a long standing track record and active research programme in computational micromagnetics, including

  • Design and implementation of the Python-based Nmag finite-element simulation tool [1]
  • Contributions to the OOMMF simulation framework: higher order anisotropy extension modules
  • Supporting 3d visualisation of OOMMF simulation resuls through ovf2vtk
  • Development of the Macro Geometry (more flexible periodic boundary conditions in micromagnetics) [see publications tab]
  • Multi-physics micromagnetic simulations [5, 6]
  • Creation of 'benchmarks' to improve reliability of micromagnetic simulations [7, 8]

Development of new techniques is typically driven by requirements from project partners from academia and industry. Sample outputs include the study of a superconducting nano element coated with a ferromagnetic layer where the superconductivity can be switched on and off through an external magnetic field [9 see publications tab], domain wall motion in a nanowire with edge roughness [10 see publications tab], the simulation of experimental work on 3d pyramidal ferromagnetic shapes [11].

[1] Nmag

[4] Hans Fangohr, Giuliano Bordignon, Matteo Franchin, Andreas Knittel, Peter A. J. de Groot, Thomas Fischbacher
A new approach to (quasi) periodic boundary conditions in micromagnetics: the macro geometry
Journal of Applied Physics 105, 07D529 (2009), http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/64103/

[5] Giuliano Bordignon, Thomas Fischbacher, Matteo Franchin, Jurgen P. Zimmermann, Alexander A. Zhukov, Vitali V. Metlushko, Peter A. J. de Groot, Hans Fangohr, Analysis of Magnetoresistance in Arrays of Connected Nano-Rings, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 43, 6, 2881-2883 (2007), http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/46710/

[6] Joule Heating, Hans Fangohr, Dmitri S. Chernyshenko, Matteo Franchin, Thomas Fischbacher, Guido Meier.
"Joule heating in nanowires", Physical Review B 84, 054437 (2011)

[7] Massoud Najafi, Benjamin Kruger, Stellan Bohlens, Matteo Franchin, Hans Fangohr, Antoine Vanhaverbeke, Rolf Allenspach, Markus Bolte, Ulrich Merkt, Daniela Pfannkuche, Dietmar P. F. Moller, and Guido Meier
Proposal for a Standard Problem for Micromagnetic Simulations Including Spin-Transfer Torque
Journal of Applied Physics 105, 113914 (2009),

[8] G. Venkat and D. Kumar and M. Franchin and O. Dmytriiev and M. Mruczkiewicz and H. Fangohr and A. Barman and M. Krawczyk and and A. Prabhakar
Proposal for a standard micromagnetic problem: Spin wave dispersion in a magnonic waveguide
IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 49, 524-529 (2013), http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/351894/

[9] Andre Muller, Sara E. C. Dale, Miles A. Engbarth, Simon J. Bending, Laurence M. Peter, Andreas Knittel, and Hans Fangohr
Field-Tuneable Diamagnetism in Ferromagnetic-Superconducting Core-Shell Structures
Advanced Functional Materials 21, 1874-1880 (2011), http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/185149/

[10] Maximilian Albert, Matteo Franchin, Thomas Fischbacher, Guido Meier, and Hans Fangohr
Domain wall motion in perpendicular anisotropy nanowires with edge roughness
J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 24, 024219 (14 pages) (2012), http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/335910/

[11] A Knittel and M Franchin and T Fischbacher and F Nasirpouri and S J Bending and H Fangohr
Micromagnetic studies of three-dimensional pyramidal shell structures
New Journal of Physics 12, 113048 (23 pages) (2010),

Related research groups

Computational Engineering and Design
in the space-time domain
Spin-waves propagation
in Nickel pyramid shell
Magnetisation vector field
Magnetic disk
Nmag simulation logo
in rare earth magnet
System dynamics
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