TOPOCOM doctoral candidates get hands-on AFM training at attocube!

In July 2026, three TOPOCOM doctoral candidates — Memoona Ismail, Duc Tran and Yuean Zhou — travelled to attocube systems in Haar, Germany, for an intensive week of hands-on training in cryogenic scanning probe microscopy. As an associated partner of the network, attocube opened its application laboratories to the group and gave each of them real measurement time on state-of-the-art instrumentation.

Guided by Application Scientist Ankit Sharma and Product Manager Mirko Bacani, the candidates worked their way through the full breadth of atomic force microscopy (AFM), carrying out piezoresponse (PFM), magnetic (MFM), Kelvin probe (KPFM) and conductive (ct-AFM) force microscopy measurements in cryogenic environments. Crucially, the sessions went beyond reference samples: the candidates measured the very materials they are studying in their own PhD projects, so the week fed directly back into their research.

As so often, the training was at its best when it became a two-way exchange. Alongside the practical AFM expertise, the attocube team shared candid insights into the realities of R&D — from project planning and product management to the day-to-day challenges of advancing an instrument — while learning in turn about the questions and approaches driving the candidates’ work.

TOPOCOM warmly thanks Ankit, Mirko and the whole attocube team for their generosity, curiosity and engagement throughout the week, and for the many inspiring discussions that accompanied every measurement. Visits like this one capture exactly the spirit of the network — academia and industry working side by side — and we look forward to the discoveries this new hands-on expertise will help unlock.

Congratulations Duc Minh Tran on an Editor’s Pick for skyrmion lattice control in Applied Physics Letters!

Duc Minh Tran’s paper titled “Controlling Skyrmion Lattice Orientation with Local Magnetic Field Gradients” was selected as an Editor’s Pick in Applied Physics Letters. The work demonstrates deterministic control over skyrmion lattice orientation using local magnetic field gradients, enabling programmable manipulation of magnetic topological textures and opening new opportunities for skyrmion-based device concepts.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0301050

Congratulations Nikhil Vijayan on an Editor’s Pick for real-time skyrmion readout in Applied Physics Letters!

The paper titled “Correlating On-the-Fly Electrical and Optical Skyrmion Readout”, co-authored by Nikhil Vijayan, was selected as an Editor’s Pick in Applied Physics Letters. The study presents a robust electrical readout scheme for individual moving skyrmions based on the anomalous Hall effect, validated through real-time correlation with optical Kerr imaging, supporting future skyrmion-based memory, sensing, and computing technologies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0297949

Congratulations Krishna Patel for winning the Best Poster Award at PhD Day Luxembourg!

She received the Best Poster Presentation Award at the recent PhD Day hosted by the University of Luxembourg. Her poster showcased cutting-edge work on electric bubble dynamics and their potential for use in unconventional computing. The selection committee highlighted the innovative approach and strong presentation of her results.

Congratulations Memoona Ismail for winning the CogniGron Research Away Day 2025 poster prizes!

She was recognised for her project on “Domain walls dynamics of ferroelectric oxides for memory applications”. Her research explores how ferroelectric thin films, engineered near phase transitions, can be used to control topological states-opening new possibilities for energy-efficient memory in neuromorphic computing. The UEF board praised her clear and enthusiastic explanation of this complex topic.