Magnetic vortices for data storage In his doctoral dissertation, Dr. Sam Treves investigated sky- rmions in the material neodymium manganese germanide (NdMn₂Ge₂). Skyrmions are tiny, stable magnetic vortices with huge potential for data storage and novel computing methods. It is particularly interesting that they remain stable in NdMn₂Ge₂ at room temperature even without the appli- cation of an external magnetic field. Treves was initially able to demonstrate the presence of skyrmions in thin lamellae of single crystals — even in the case of temperature changes and magnetic fields. As crystals grow slowly and are expensive and difficult to scale up, how- ever, he grew additional thin films of the material. There, he also observed skyrmion-like structures, whose magnetization could even be reversed — presumably due to grains and de- fects within the material. This work shows how strongly the material structure af- fects magnetic properties, demonstrating the potential of thin NdMn₂Ge₂ layers for future storage technologies. What do our doctoral students think about the SNI and the SNI PhD School? In two short videos, doctoral students talk about what the SNI means to them and what makes the SNI Doctoral School so special. Video “What PhD students think about the SNI“ Video “The SNI PhD School is...“ Further information: SNI PhD School 21 SNI INSight December 2025
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