Module manager: Dr Thomas Moore
Email: T.A.Moore@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
Level 2 Physics or equivalent
| PHAS5310M | Nanomagnetism |
PHYS3422
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Magnetic and ferroelectric materials underpin much of modern technology and thus our everyday lives, from electric motors and dynamos to energy and data storage, sensors and computing. An understanding of magnetism and ferroelectricity requires knowledge in several areas of physics to be brought together, including classical and quantum mechanics, electrostatics, statistical physics and condensed matter physics. The first part of this course focuses on the theory of ferromagnetism, while the second part uncovers the physics behind the applications of magnetic materials, including thin film magnetism and spintronics. The final part discusses the origin of polarisation in ferroelectrics, and examines the coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity in multiferroic materials.
This module will help students to gain an understanding of magnetic and ferroelectric materials and their technologies, which are core to our response to some of the most pressing global challenges. It will link to current research in the field and provide a basis for studies at higher levels.
Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge, understanding and application of:
1. Exchange interaction
2. Magnetic anisotropy
3. Demagnetising field
4. Magnetic domains and simple micromagnetics
5. Magnetotransport
6. Current issues in thin film magnetism, magnetic heterostructures and devices
7. Polarisation in dielectrics and ferroelectrics
8. Multiferroic materials
Skills Learning Outcomes
A) Modelling
B) Problem Solving
1. Measurements of magnetisation.
2. Exchange and Heisenberg Hamiltonian.
3. Antisymmetric exchange.
4. Magnetisation vs. temperature: Molecular field, Stoner model, magnons, critical regime.
5. Anisotropy and Superparamagnetism.
6. Stoner-Wohlfarth particles.
7. Origins of anisotropy and exchange anisotropy.
8. Magnetostatic self-energy and demagnetising factors.
9. Shape anisotropy.
10. Domain structures and domain walls.
11. Simple micromagnetics.
12. Magnetization dynamics.
13. Permanent magnets and energy products.
14. Low-dimensional ordering and perpendicular anisotropy.
15. Spin-dependent band structures and spin-dependent transport.
16. Anisotropic, giant, and tunnelling magnetoresistance.
17. Spin torque.
18. Magnetotransport measurements.
19. Spin-valves, magnetic tunnel junctions, read-write heads and MRAM.
20. Charge displacement: permittivity and dielectric loss, polarisation mechanisms.
21. Ferroelectricity: crystallographic origins, spontaneous polarisation, thermodynamic theory, domains and multiferroics.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 33 | 1 | 33 |
| Private study hours | 167 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 33 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
167
Feedback on coursework, workshops
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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