Samanta Piano
Nottingham Advanced Research Fellow, Faculty of Science
Current Research
I am currently a Nottingham advance research fellow (apr 2011) at the University of Nottingham. With this fellowship I am starting to work with the physics of ultra-cold atoms in the recently formed Midlands Ultracold Atoms Research Centre (MUARC) on the realisation of a standard ultra-cold atom apparatus based on rubidium-87 atoms in order to investigate the magnetic domains of conventional ferromagnetic materials (such as Co, Ni, Fe).
As a Marie Curie Fellow (apr 2009/march 2011) and as post-doc research fellow (feb/march 2009) at the University of Nottingham, my research interests have been in the field of ferromagnetic semiconductor spintronics. I have carried out Andreev reflection measurements in a low-temperature electronically-controlled feedback-free STM system (which I have realised in collaboration with Dr C. Mellor) to investigate the spin polarisation of (Ga,Mn)As and, in order to achieve a reliable modeling of the experimental data, I have established a collaboration with Prof M. Eschrig (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany). In collaboration with Prof J Fontcubert (ICMAB Barcelona, Spain) I have studied the spin filter efficiency in ferrimagnetic tunnel barriers. By using AFM and X-ray GID (in collaboration with Prof V. Holi, Charles University, Prague), I have demonstrated the existence of self-organised striped periodic structures in (Ga,Mn)As and related these to the unexplained uniaxial anisotropy.
As Post-Doc at the University of Salerno (feb 2007/jan 2009) I have investigated the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism by using scanning probe microscopies. In collaboration with the Chemical Engineering group in Salerno, I have carried out an electrical characterisation of multiwalled carbon-nanotubes, demonstrating their employment as practical temperature nano-sensors.
During my PhD (awarded in feb 2007) I have investigated the superconducting order parameter in unconventional superconductors with Andreev Reflection technique. Within this framework I have collaborated with Prof M Aprili (Universit Paris-Sud, France). As a visiting fellow (nov 2005/oct 2006) in the Device Materials group of Prof M Blamire at Cambridge University I have focused my research on the fabrication and investigation of ferromagnetic Josephson junctions to the possible application in the engineering of controllable and programmable pseudo-spin-valve devices for the implementation of quantum bit processors.