Advent calendar - December 14th - Rixt Bosma

In the Zernike Institute Advent Calendar, we are presenting 24 short spotlights in December. In these specials, we highlight PhD students, postdocs, support staff and technicians of our research groups and team - providing a glimpse in their typical day at work. In Episode 14 meet Rixt Bosma, PhD researcher in the Optospintronics of quantum materials group under the supervision of Prof. Marcos Guimarães.

I’m a PhD researcher in the Optospintronics of quantum materials group under the supervision of Prof. Marcos Guimarães. In our group we work to better understand two dimensional (2D) materials. These materials harbour many unique physical properties and provide a rich platform for new physics as well as potential applicability in electronics. In my work I aim to characterize and tune the behaviour of 2D magnetic materials.

To me, the main appeal of 2D materials is the ability to combine them into 2D heterostructures. We usually fabricate these samples in a glovebox with transfer stage, where an adapted optical microscope allows us to controllably pick up and place down flakes of our materials. This way, we can make elaborate stacks that allow us to research, for example, proximity effects and electrostatic gating. With conventional (electron beam) lithography techniques we can define electrical connections to complete the devices, which I then characterize using several different measurement techniques.

I spend most of my time at our ultrafast laser setup. Here we use a pulsed laser to excite our device locally, and probe the magnetisation a variable delay time later. This way, we can map out the device’s behaviour over time. Performing time resolved measurements with good signal to noise ratios requires a lot of alignment and optimization. Luckily, I very much enjoy tinkering with the setup. Seeing a material’s magnetisation mapped out over time will always be exciting to me.

In addition to my research work, I’m active in the GSSE sounding board and the organization of the ZIAM PhD colloquia and symposium. In these colloquia, a PhD student of one of the ZIAM research groups gives a talk to their peers from the intstitute. It’s great to be a part of such a diverse institute, and these colloquia help me feel connected to others in the institute. This is useful for collaborations but is also just fun. So far, my PhD has been a rewarding journey, and I look forward to the many challenges to come!

See all Advent Calendar items 2024 here!