Prof. Dr. Roberto Lo Conte

Scientific Staff

Scanning Probe Methods

Address

University of Hamburg

Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences

Institute for Nanostructure and Solid State Physics

Jungiusstraße 11a

20355 Hamburg

Office

Room: 305

Contact

Tel: +49 40 42838-6182

Email: rolocont"AT"physnet.uni-hamburg.de

Curriculum Vitae

2021 - present	Research Associate at the Department of Physics, University of Hamburg Investigation of magnet/superconductor hybrid quantum materials via scanning tunneling microscopy
2018 - 2020	Marie Curie Fellow at the Physics Department, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
2018 - 2019	Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the MSE Department, University of California, Berkeley, USA
2017	Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (Global Fellowship) awarded by the European Commission Room temperature stabilization and all-electrical manipulation of chiral spin structures in metallic multilayers www.nanoscience.de/skdwontrack-project
2016 - 2017	Post-Doctoral Researcher in the EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley, USA Electric field-based control of magnetism in multiferroic heterostructures
2012 - 2015	Ph.D. in Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University at Mainz, Germany Magnetic nanostructures with structural inversion asymmetry
2012 - 2015	Materials Science in Mainz (MAINZ) Doctoral Scholarship

Research Interests

Main research interests

Non-collinear magnetic order, skyrmions, superconductivity, hybrid quantum systems, topological superconductivity.

Non-collinear magnetism
The development of materials systems with new functionalities is at the core of the design of the next generation information technologies. This technological motivation has driven the design and investigation of new magnetic materials with intrinsically stable magnetic states, easy to electrically manipulate and detect at a low energy cost. In the last years I focused my attention on the development of magnetic thin-film multilayers hosting non-collinear and topologically protected spin-structures such as chiral magnetic domain walls, spin-spirals and skyrmions.Computer-reconstracted spin texture of an experimentally observed magnetic skyrmion. The cones represent the local magnetization.

Topological superconductivity
More recently, I decided to use my expertise in non-collinear magnetic systems for the design of new hybrid quantum materials. One very promising approach to build quantum materials with tunable properties is given by magnet/superconductor hybrid systems, which hold high promises for applications in superconducting spintronics and quantum computing. Novel quantum effects are expected to emerge at the interface between a superconductor and a magnetic material, such as spin-polarized supercurrents and topologically protected electronic states. In light of the high promises magnet/superconductor hybrids hold for the design of future information technologies, the development of a materials platform where the quantum properties of those systems can be studied and optimized presents an enormous opportunity for fundamental research and technological advancement.

Track Record

ORCID: 0000-0002-5050-9978

Conferences, Seminars and Workshops (past and upcoming)

Invited

Oct 2021	Landau Seminar, Loughborough University (virtual)
Mar 2021	APS March Meeting 2021 (virtual)
Nov 2020	Eng. Physics Seminar, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal (virtual)
Aug 2020	Physics Seminar, Aarhus University (virtual)
Dec 2019	Imaging Facility Seminar, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley-CA, USA
Jul 2019	Materials Science Seminar, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Jan 2019	2019 Joint MMM-Intermag, Washington D.C., USA
Oct 2018	2018 Advanced Light Source (ALS) User Meeting, Berkeley-CA, USA
Jan 2018	2018 TANMS Annual Research Strategy Meeting (ARSM), Los Angeles-CA, USA

Contributed (selected)

Jun 2022	2D-SPM International Conference, San Sebastián, Spain
Mar 2022	APS March Meeting 2022 (virtual)
Jul 2021	ICN+T 2021 Conference (virtual)
Jun 2021	Sol-SkyMag 2021 Conference (virtual)
Dec 2020	Joint European Magnetic Symposia (JEMS) 2020 Conference (virtual)
Nov 2020	Virtual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM) (virtual)
Nov 2019	64th Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM), Las Vegas-NV, USA
Jul 2028	21st International Conference on Magnetism, San Francisco-CA, USA
Nov 2017	62st Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM), Pittsburgh-PA, USA
Nov 2016	61st Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM), New Orleans-LA, USA
Sep 2016	10th LEEM/PEEM Conference, Monterey-CA, USA
Aug 2016	GRC Conference: Multiferroic & Magnetoelectric Materials, Lewiston-ME, USA
Nov 2014	59st Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM), Honolulu, HI, USA

Funding and projects

2021 - 2023

DFG

Individual Research Grant (2 years)

Investigation of tunable magnet/superconductor hybrid systems via scanning tunneling microscopy

Primary Institution: University of Hamburg

2018 - 2020

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (Global Fellowship) (3 years)

Room temperature stabilization and all-electrical manipulation of chiral spin structures in metallic multilayers

Primary Institution: University of Hamburg

Host Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Teaching

Summer

2022

Lectures and Exercises (Master level) on
Surface Science and Magnetism (together with Kirsten von Bergmann and Jens Wiebe)
66-312 Nanostrukturphysik II - Magnetismus und Oberflächenphysik

University of Hamburg

Fall

2018

Lectures and Exercises (Graduate level) on
Magnetism, Magnetic Materials, and Magnetic Microscopies
MSE-204 Materials Characterization (main teacher: Prof. Andrew Minor)

University of California, Berkeley

Summer

2014

Exercises (Bachelor level) on
Experimental Physics I

Johannes Guthenberg University at Mainz

Winter

2013-2014

Exercises (Master level) on
Materials Science: Magnetism (main teacher: P.D. Dr. Andy Thomas)

Johannes Guthenberg University at Mainz

Publications

22	Coexistence of Antiferromagnetism and Superconductivity in Mn/Nb(110) R. Lo Conte, M. Bazarnik, K. Palotás, L. Rózsa, L. Szunyogh, A. Kubetzka, K. von Bergmann, and R. Wiesendanger Phys. Rev. B 105, L100406 (2022).
21	Observation of hydrogen-induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and reversible switching of magnetic chirality G. Chen, M. Robertson, M. Hoffmann, C. Ophus, A. L. F. Cauduro, R. Lo Conte, H. Ding, R. Wiesendanger, S. Blügel, A. K. Schmid, and K. Liu Phys. Rev. X 11, 021015 (2021).
20	Influence of dislocations and twin walls in BaTiO3 on the voltage-controlled switching of perpendicular magnetization M. Goiriena-Goikoetxea, Z. Xiao, A. El-Ghazaly, C. V. Stan, J. Chatterjee, A. Ceballos, A. Pattabi, N. Tamura, R. Lo Conte, F. Hellman, R. Candler, and J. Bokor Phys. Rev. Mater. 5, 024401 (2021).
19	Spin-orbit torque switching of a ferromagnet with picosecond electrical pulses K. Jhuria, J. Hohlfeld, A. Pattabi, E. Martin, A. Y. A. Córdova, X. Shi, R. Lo Conte, S. Petit-Watelot, J. C. Rojas-Sanchez, G. Malinowski, S. Mangin, A. Lemaître, M. Hehn, J. Bokor, R. B.Wilson, and J. Gorchon Nature Electronics 3, 680-686 (2020).
18	Large Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction induced by chemisorbed oxygen on a ferromagnet surface G. Chen, A. Mascaraque, H. Jia, B. Zimmermann, M. Robertson, R. Lo Conte, M. Hoffmann, M. A. González Barrio, H. Ding, R. Wiesendanger, E. G. Michel, A. K. Schmid, S. Blügel, and K. Liu Science Advances 6, eaba4924 (2020).
17	Tuning the properties of zero-field room temperature ferromagnetic skyrmions by interlayer exchange coupling R. Lo Conte, A. K. Nandy, G. Chen, A. L. F. Cauduro, A. Maity, C. Ophus, Z. Chen, A. T. N'Diaye, K. Liu, A. K. Schmid, and R. Wiesendanger Nano Letters 20, 4739-4747 (2020).
16	Tunable magnetoelastic effects in voltage-controlled exchange-coupled composite multiferroic microstructures Z. Xiao, R. Lo Conte, M. Goiriena-Goikoetxea, R. V. Chopdekar, C.-H. A. Lambert, X. Li, A. T. N’Diaye, P. Shafer, S. Tiwari, A. Barra, A. Chavez, G. P. Carman, K. L. Wang, S. Salahuddin, E. Arenholz, J. Bokor, and R. N. Candler ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 12, 6752-6760 (2020)
15	Electric-field controlled magnetic reorientation in exchange coupled CoFeB/Ni bilayer microstructures Z. Xiao, R. Lo Conte, M. Goiriena, R. V. Chopdekar, X. Li, S. Tiwari, C.-H. Lambert, S. Salahuddin, G. P. Carman, K. Wang, J. Bokor, and R. N. Candler J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1407, 012024 (2019)
14	Cytocompatible magnetostrictive microstructures for nano- and microparticle manipulation on linear strain response piezoelectrics Z. Xiao, R. Khojah, M. Chooljian, R. Lo Conte, J. D. Schneider, K. Fitzell, R. V. Chopdekar, Y. Wang, A. Scholl, J. P. Chang, G. Carman, J. Bokor, D. Di Carlo, and R. Candler Multifunct. Mater. 1, 014004 (2018)
13	Modification of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction-Stabilized Domain Wall Chirality by Driving Currents G. V. Karnad, F. Freimuth, E. Martinez, R. Lo Conte, G. Gubbiotti, T. Schulz, S. Senz, B. Ocker, Y. Mokrousov, and M. Kläui Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 147203 (2018)
12	Electrically controlled switching of the magnetization state in multiferroic BaTiO3\CoFe sub-micron structures R. Lo Conte, J. Gorchon, A. Mougin, C. H. A. Lambert, A. El-Ghazaly, A. Scholl, S. Salahuddin, and J. Bokor Phys. Rev. Mater. 2, 091402(R) (2018)
11	Evidence for phonon skew scattering in the spin Hall effect of platinum G. V. Karnad, C. Gorini, K. Lee, T. Schulz, R. Lo Conte, A. W. J. Wells, D.-S. Han, K. Shahbazi, J.-S. Kim, T. A. Moore, H. J. M. Swagten, U. Eckern, R. Raimondi, and M. Kläui Phys. Rev. B 97, 100405 (2018)
10	Bi-directional coupling in strain-mediated multiferroic heterostructures with magnetic domains and domain wall motion Z. Xiao, R. Lo Conte, C. Chen, C.-Y. Liang, A. Sepulveda, J. Bokor, G. P. Carman, and R. N. Candler Sci. Rep. 8, 5207 (2018)
9	Influence of Non-Uniform Micron-Scale Strain Distributions on the Electrical Reorientation of Magnetic Micro-Structures in a Composite Multiferroic Heterostructure R. Lo Conte, Z. Xiao, C. Chen, C. V. Stan, J. Gorchon, A. El-Ghazaly, M. E. Nowakowski, H. Sohn, A. Pattabi, A. Scholl, N. Tamura, A. Sepulveda, G. P. Carman, R. N. Candler, and J. Bokor Nano Lett. 18, 1592 (2018)
8	Enhanced magnetoelectric coupling in a composite multiferroic system via interposing a thin film polymer Z. Xiao, K. P. Mohanchandra, R. Lo Conte, C. Ty Caraba, J. D. Schneider, A. Chavez, S. Tiwari, H. Sohn, M. E. Nowakowski, A. Scholl, S. H. Tolbert, J. Bokor, G. P. Carman, and R. N. Candler AIP Adv. 8, 055907 (2018)
7	Effective field analysis using the full angular spin-orbit torque magnetometry dependence T. Schultz, K. Lee, B. Krüger, R. Lo Conte, G. V. Karnad, K. Garcia, L. Vila, B. Ocker, D. Ravelosona, and M. Kläui Phys. Rev. B 95, 224409 (2017)
6	Ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and spin-orbit torques in Pt\Co\AlOx R. Lo Conte,* G. V. Karnad,* E. Martinez, K. Lee, N.-H. Kim, D.-S. Han, J.-S. Kim, S. Prenzel, T. Schulz, C.-Y. You, H. J. M. Swagten, and M. Kläui AIP Adv. 7, 065317 (2017)
5	Control of the Magnetic Configuration of Ferromagnetic Nanostructures Across the Structural Phase Transition of Vanadium Dioxide S. Finizio, M. Vafaee, I. Valmianski, R. M. Reeve, R. Lo Conte, A. Kleibert, I. K. Schuller and M. Kläui IEEE Magn. Lett. 7, 6106604 (2016)
4	Spin-orbit torques for current parallel and perpendicular to a domain wall T. Schulz, O. Alejos, E. Martinez, K. M. D. Hals, K. Garcia, L. Vila, K. Lee, R. Lo Conte, G. V. Karnad, S. Moretti, B. Ocker, D. Ravelosona, A. Brataas, and M. Kläui Appl. Phys. Lett. 107, 122405 (2015)
3	Role of B diffusion in the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in Ta/Co20Fe60B20/MgO nanowires R. Lo Conte, E. Martinez, A. Hrabec, A. Lamperti, T. Schulz, L. Nasi, L. Nazzarini, R. Mantovan, F. Maccherozzi, S. S. Dhesi, B. Ocker, C. H. Marrows, T. A. Moore, and M. Kläui Phys. Rev. B 91, 014433 (2015)
2	Spin-orbit torque-driven magnetization switching and thermal effects studied in Ta\CoFeB\MgO nanowires R. Lo Conte, A. Hrabec, A. P. Mihai, T. Schulz, S.-J. Noh, C. H. Marrows, T. A. Moore, and M. Kläui Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 122404 (2014)
1	Sub-10 nm colloidal lithography for circuit-integrated spin-photo electronic devices A. Iovan, M. Fischer, R. Lo Conte, and V. Korenivski Beilstein J. Nanotech. 3, 884 (2012)
*Equal contribution
PhD Thesis	Magnetic nanostructures with structural inversion asymmetry Roberto Lo Conte Dec 2015 Main Advisor: Prof. Mathias Kläui (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz) Co-Advisor: Prof. Thomas A. Moore (University of Leeds)