distances that separate atoms. For a very different perspective on data storage, each slide in the

presentation looks at things on a scale that is a factor of ten smaller than the previous slide. The

common thread is the technology of information storage. Information storage is what defines human

history and it is the machine-readable data storage developed in the last half-century that provides the

foundation of the modern information age. More than anything, data storage implies magnetic

recording and the hard disk drive. The humble Hard Disk Drive contains such exquisite technologies

and operates at such astounding precision that it almost defies belief. Yet, our industry churns out

these devices by the hundreds of millions and sells them for a few tens of dollars each. Please enjoy

this light-hearted logarithmic romp through storage technology from interstellar space to interatomic

spacings.

(The presentation is based on a talk given at the annual ASME ISPS banquet in Santa Clara, California, in June 2016, while the author was with Western Digital Corporation.)

[1] A. Brataas, A. D. Kent and H. Ohno, “Current-Induced Torques in Magnetic Materials,” Nature Materials 11, 372 (2012)

[2] A. D. Kent and D. C. Worledge, “A new spin on magnetic memories,” Nature Nanotechnology 10, 187 (2015)

[3] D. Backes, F. Macia, S. Bonetti, R. Kukreja, H. Ohldag and A. D. Kent, “Direct Observation of a Localized Magnetic Soliton in a Spin-Transfer Nanocontact,” PRL 115, 127205 (2015)

[4] Alex Matos-Abiaguea, Javad Shabani, Andrew D. Kent, Geoffrey L. Fatina, Benedikt Scharfa, Igor Žutić, “Tunable magnetic textures: From Majorana bound states to braiding,” Solid State Communications 262, 1 (2017)

[5] C. Hahn, G. Wolf, B. Kardasz, S. Watts, M. Pinarbasi, A. D. Kent, “Time-resolved studies of the spin-transfer reversal mechanism in perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions,” Physical Review B 94, 214432 (2016)

*Work done in collaboration with Dirk Backes, Gabriel Chaves, Daniel Gopman, Christian Hahn, Jinting Hang, Yuming Hung, Ferran Macia, Daniele Pinna, Laura Rehm, Debangsu Roy, Javad Shabani and Volker Sluka at NYU; Georg Wolf, Bartek Kardasz, Steve Watts and Mustafa Pinarbasi at Spin Transfer Technologies Inc.;and Hendrik Ohldag at SSRL

Hybrid materials allow the engineering of new material properties by creative uses of proximity effects. When two dissimilar materials are in close physical proximity the properties of each one may be radically modified or occasionally a completely new material emerges. In the area of magnetism, controlling the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic thin films without magnetic fields is an on- going challenge with multiple technological implications for low- energy consumption memory and logic devices. Interesting possibilities include ferromagnets in proximity to dissimilar materials such as antiferromagnets or oxides that undergo metal-insulator transitions. The proximity of ferromagnets to antiferromagnets has given rise to the extensively studied Exchange Bias[1].

In a series of recent studies, we have investigated the magnetic properties of different hybrids of ferromagnets (Ni, Co and Fe) and oxides, which undergo metal-insulator and structural phase transitions. Both the static as well as dynamical properties of the ferromagnets are drastically affected. Static properties such as the coercivity, anisotropy and magnetization [2-3] and dynamical properties such as the microwave response are clearly modified by the proximity effect and give raise to interesting perhaps useful properties.

Work supported by US-AFOSR and US-DOE

Selected References:

[1] Exchange Bias,Josep Nogues and Ivan K. Schuller, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 192, 203 (1999).

[2] Control of Magnetism Across Metal to Insulator Transitions, J. de la Venta, Siming Wang, J. G. Ramirez, and Ivan K. Schuller, App. Phys. Lett. 102, 122404 (2013).

[3] Coercivity Enhancement in V₂O₃/Ni Bilayers Driven by Nanoscale Phase Coexistence, J. de la Venta, Siming Wang, T. Saerbeck, J. G. Ramirez, I. Valmianski, and Ivan K. Schuller, Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 062410 (2014).

[4] Collective Mode Splitting in Hybrid Heterostructures, Juan Gabriel Ramírez, J. de la Venta, Siming Wang, Thomas Saerbeck, Ali C. Basaran, X. Batlle, and Ivan K. Schuller, Phys. Rev. B, 93, 214113 (2016).

Intelligence in the natural world is panspermic to life, ranging from basic survival skills in non-neural organisms to co-operative foraging and complex mating strategies in higher level animals. We ask the question whether such remarkable features can be implemented in the physical world utilizing adaptive matter. We have identified strongly correlated semiconductors, one class of quantum materials as particularly suited for this effort, owing to their remarkable electronic plasticity. One may refer to these systems as organismic materials that display certain well-defined characteristics of living beings. In this presentation, we will present examples from the animal kingdom focusing on intelligence and episodic memory. Then we will discuss recent collaborative studies on correlated oxides demonstrating ancestral intelligence. We will conclude with examples of neural networks that can be designed with quantum materials that can replicate fundamental animal learning traits. The role of defects, strain and orbital occupancy control in design of electronic plasticity will be highlighted.