Organisation and management of the Centree

MMMFE as the Centre of Excellence operates as part of the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Approximately 60 % of the scientific staff of the Institute is directly involved in the activities of the Centre. The Institute is headed by its Director, Prof. Narcyz Piślewski, while the activities within MMMFE are co-ordinated by Prof. Bogdan Bułka.

Co-ordination of the centre activity is to be achieved by a close supervision by the Board consisting of the Co-ordinator and responsible researchers: Prof. S. Krompiewski, Prof. A. Jezierski, Assoc. Prof. R. Świetlik, Prof. B. Hilczer, Prof. S. Waplak, Assoc. Prof. W. Kuczyński, Assoc. Prof. K. Wojciechowski. The entire Centre is also supervised by the Directorship of the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences whose part the Centre remains. Advices from broader circles comes from the International Advisory Board of the Centre:

• Günther Bayreuther (Universität Regensburg)
• Bernhard Kramer (Universität Hamburg)
• Francois Kajzar (CEA Saclay)
• Hans W. Spiess (Max-Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Mainz)
• Jan Stankowski (Institute of Molecular Physics, PAS)
• Andrzej Graja (Institute of Molecular Physics, PAS)
• Józef Barnaś (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań)
• Stefan Jurga (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań)

Goals of MMMFE

The Centre of Excellence project has the following general objectives:

1. To extend research activities towards modern and advanced fields of solid state physics of new materials in areas of recognised importance for future applications in novel electronics.
2. To build capacity of the Centre as a potential research partner for Polish industry; to enhance involvement in the newly emerging high-tech industry.
3. To expand links with chosen European research centres giving access to unique facilities important for development of science and technology; to build up networking activities with leading European centres.
4. To establish graduate, post-graduate, and post-doc studies on the international level; to attract more students to science.
5. To support development of the young research staff; to improve the quality of human resources.
6. To intensify exchange of the research staff, teachers and students.
7. To strengthen the impact on the development of the economic and social needs of the region.

The main goal of the Centre is to orientate our research activity towards physics of magnetic and molecular (dielectric) nanostructured materials for future applications in novel electronics, all the envisaged measures are foresighted to build the scientific capacity of the Centre as a potent research partner for leading research centres. With the growing competition and globalisation, new trends in modern physics and technology issue a challenge to us to intensify efforts in new priority areas, which we believe are most promising. Some steps in the novel area of nanotechnology, spintronics, molecular electronics have already been established, mainly in theory (spin dependent transport in nanodevices, ab-initio calculations of electronic structure of alloys etc.) but also in technology of magnetic thin films (layered metallic structures exhibiting giant magnetoresistance, soft magnetic films, magnetic oxides exhibiting colossal magnetoresistance) and molecular compounds (e.g. fullerene based composites).

In particular, we aim to increase efforts on:

• investigation of spin-dependent transport in nanostructured and layered systems as well as new magnetic materials. They are the subjects of great attention with regard to potential applications for a new branch of modern electronics - magnetoelectronics (see workpackages WP1, WP2 and in part WP3).
• design of new organic low-dimensional and molecular materials as well as investigations of transport through nanoclusters, electronic correlation, modelling and search for new molecular electronic devices. Their characterisation by optical spectroscopy and studies of electronic transport properties (WP 3).
• studies of ferroelectric polymers, polymer relaxors, electroactive ceramic-polymer composites and liquid crystals and search for modern sensor and actuator applications (WP 4, WP 5 and WP 6).

The program of the Centre is organised in 6 Work Packages (see the work packages list). Each work package consists of several tasks. Some tasks are devoted to organisation in Poland of specialised workshop-type meetings, with the best specialists from Europe invited to speak on their respective fields of activity. The next tasks are to enhance the international collaboration, either by inviting specialists or by enabling researchers from the Centre to travel to their foreign collaborators.

Selected scientific equipment

• pulsed EPR spectrometer Bruker ESP 380E FT/CW (9.8 GHz, T=4.2 - 300K)
• high hydrostatic pressure device for EPR spectrometers (up to 500 MPa, 10-400 K)
• Bruker NMR pulse spectrometers (SXP 4-100 and MSL 300) with two electromagnets, one superconducting magnet and two helium cryostats (Oxford and Leybold)
• Bruker Avance 300 WB spectrometer with superconducting magnet of 7T, gradient unit with maximal gradient strength 100 G/cm and microimaging probe-head with the diameter 5, 15 and 25 mm, temperature control system from 100 to 400 K
• FT NQR pulse spectrometer operating within the 2-150 MHz frequency range and an Oxford continuous-flow helium cryostat
• NIR-FT-Raman spectrometer (IFS 66 FRA 106, Bruker); Raman microscope with helium cryostat
• FT-IR spectrometer Perkin-Elmer 1725X with IR microscope
• IR spectrometer Specord M80
• NIR-VIS-UV spectrometer Perkin-Elmer Lambda 19
• FT IR Bruker spectrometer Equinox 55 with helium cryostat and IR microscope
• Faraday magnetic balance
• Ferromagnetic resonance spectrometers for X and Q bands
• Equipment for transport and magnetotransport measurements
• X-ray diffractometer
• Ultra-high-vacuum sputtering system equipped with X-ray photoemission spectrometer
• (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectrometer (AES)
• double face-to-face sputtering system
• Vacuum evaporator Balzers
• Furnaces for high-temperature synthesis
• Vacuum devices for amorphous ribbon
• Devices for mechanical alloying
• X-ray diffractometer HZHG-4
• Spectromag Oxford 4000 system
• FMR K-band spectrometer
• Magnetometers
• Electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power apparatus
• Helium cryostats for spectral and electrical measurements
• Equipment for dielectric spectroscopy in frequency range 10 - 109 Hz (T=10-500 K)
• Equipment for electric conductivity measurements from d.c. to 109 Hz
• Equipment for optical study in temp. range 80-870 K
• Differential scanning calorimeter (Netzsch DSC 200) from 150 K to 1500 K
• Scanning electron microscope (Tesla BS 300)
• Impedance analysers/LCR bridges (20 Hz- 100 MHz)
• Viscometer HAAKE Rotovisco RV20/CV100
• Densimeter Anton Paar DMA 60/602
• Hewlett Packard UNIX workstation
• AC susceptometer/DC magnetometer MagLab 2000 system
• X-band EPR spectrometer equipped with Oxford ESR 900 cryostat and ITC 503 temperature controller
• Device for imaging of magnetic field distribution using Hall-sensor
• SE/X EPR spectrometer
• Superconducting magnet
• 4275 Multi-frequency LCR meter, and 1689M Gen. Rad. RLC digibridge