Wagga2026/AC2MP2026

Rare earth nitrides - ferromagnetic semiconductors for energy-efficient superconducting and quantum electronics

Not scheduled

20m

Convention Centre (Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga NSW Australia)

Invited Oral Magnetism Magnetism

Speaker

Simon Granville (Victoria University of Wellington)

Description

Combining the rare earth (lanthanide) elements with nitrogen results in the rare-earth nitrides, semiconducting materials with strong magnetic moments that order cooperatively at cryogenic temperatures. The resulting materials have both highly-tuneable magnetism and conductivity that can be controlled over orders of magnitude – a near-unique combination with multiple applications for energy-efficient cryogenic and quantum electronics [1].
In this presentation I will showcase some of the most intriguing and technologically relevant results from our 20 years of research on the rare-earth nitrides as thin films, including (nearly) zero moment ferromagnetic states [2], superconductivity [3] and large unquenched orbital magnetic moments [4]. These and other characteristics make the rare-earth nitrides potential solutions to ongoing challenges in developing energy-efficient cryogenic electronics, including as control electronics for quantum computing [5]. I will also show results from our recent work to develop the rare-earth nitrides into prototype cryogenic memories and superconducting circuit elements.

[1] W. F. Holmes-Hewett, J. D. Miller, H. G. Ahmad, S. Granville, and B. J. Ruck, “Rare-earth nitrides: fundamental advances and applications in cryogenic electronics”, J. Phys. D, 58, 343001 (2025).
[2] C. Meyer, B. J. Ruck, J. Zhong, S. Granville, A. R. H. Preston et, G. V. M. Williams, H. J. Trodahl, “Near-zero moment ferromagnetism in the semiconductor SmN”, Phys. Rev. B 78, 174406 (2008).
[3] E.-M. Anton, S. Granville, A. Engel, S. V. Chong, M. Governale, U. Zülicke, A. G. Moghaddam, H. J. Trodahl, F. Natali, S. Vézian, and B. J. Ruck, “Superconductivity in the ferromagnetic semiconductor samarium nitride“, Phys. Rev. B 94, 024106 (2016)
[4] E.-M. Anton, J. F. McNulty, B. J. Ruck, M. Suzuki, M. Mizumaki, V. N. Antonov, J. W. Quilty, N. Strickland, and H. J. Trodahl, “NdN: An intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductor“, Phys. Rev. B 93, 064431 (2016)
[5] S. Alam, Md S. Hossain, S. R. Srinivasa, and A. Aziz, “Cryogenic memory technologies“, Nature Electron. 6, 185 (2023).