The Institute Jean Lamour (IJL) is a joint research unit of CNRS and Université de Lorraine.
Focused on materials and processes science and engineering, it covers: materials, metallurgy, plasmas, surfaces, nanomaterials and electronics.
The IJL has 263 permanent staff (30 researchers, 134 teacher-researchers, 99 IT-BIATSS) and 394 non-permanent staff (182 doctoral students, 62 post-doctoral students / contractual researchers and more than 150 trainees), of 45 different nationalities.
Partnerships exist with 150 companies and our research groups collaborate with more than 30 countries throughout the world.
Its exceptional instrumental platforms are spread over 4 sites; the main one is located on Artem campus in Nancy.

This thesis aims to explore novel methods of depositing thin ferromagnetic materials Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) methods offer very good performance for the elaboration of spintronic devices thanks to a very good control of the thicknesses and interfaces at the atomic scale. Ideal for deposition planar films, PVD methods are somehow limited for the growth of 3D nanostructures. Achieving similar performance level of PVD deposited materials and heterostructures by using ALD should unblock the way toward next generation spintronic devices.
The successful candidate will therefore investigate the growth mechanisms, structural properties, and magnetic behavior of the ALD grown thin films, with the ultimate goal of advancing spintronic device technologies.

Specific research goals include:
1. Optimization of ALD process parameters for the deposition of ferromagnetic metals with different precursors
2. Characterization of the structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of ALD-grown thin films.
3. Advanced structural and magnetic characterization (TEM, XPS, FMR, magnetotransport…)
4. Integration of ALD-deposited ferromagnetic materials into prototype spintronic devices (MRAM) for evaluation and testing.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work in a dynamic and collaborative research environment, collaborating with leading experts in the field of spintronics and thin film growth. This project will benefit from a unique experimental environment. Particularly, the ALD setup is connected to a large UHV cluster (40 meters !) offering huge possibilities of characterization (XPS, Auger, STM…) and association with other materials. The project will also benefit from all the core facilities of Institut Jean Lamour (electron microscopies, xray diffraction, nanofabrication…) and from the state-of-the-art facilities and competences of the SPIN team.