Peter Schiffer
Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Physics
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Applied Physics
Director for Strategic Projects, Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Professor Schiffer’s research group focuses on experimental studies of magnetic materials and nanostructures. Previous topics of study have included geometrically frustrated magnets, in which the spins enter cooperative spin liquid and spin ice phases at low temperatures, and exotic magnetoeletronic materials that display strong coupling between their magnetic and electronic properties. Current research focuses on frustrated “artificial spin ice” arrays of interacting ferromagnetic nanostructures. These arrays are both designable and resolvable at the level of the individual nanoscale magnetic moments. As a result, they enable the study of phenomena that are inaccessible in any other physical system, including some with potential relevance to technological applications.
Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Teaching Excellence, Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University
Faculty Scholar Medal in the Physical Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
Fellow, American Physical Society
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), Army Research Office
National Science Foundation CAREER Award
“Collective Ferromagnetism of Artificial Square Spin Ice”, N. S. Bingham, X. Zhang, J. Ramberger, O. Heinonen, C. Leighton, and P. Schiffer, Physical Review Letters 129, 067201 (2022).
“Entropy-driven order in an array of nanomagnets”, Hilal Saglam, Ayhan Duzgun, Aikaterini Kargioti, Nikhil Harle, Xiaoyu Zhang, Nicholas S. Bingham, Yuyang Lao, Ian Gilbert, Joseph Sklenar, Justin D. Watts, Justin Ramberger, Daniel Bromley, Rajesh V. Chopdekar, Liam O’Brien, Chris Leighton, Cristiano Nisoli and Peter Schiffer, Nature Physics 18, 706-712 (2022).
“Experimental Realization of the 1D Random Field Ising Model”, N. S. Bingham, S. Rooke, J. Park, A. Simon, W. Zhu, X. Zhang, J. Batley, J. D. Watts, C. Leighton, K. A. Dahmen, and P. Schiffer, Physical Review Letters 127, 207203 (2021).
“String Phase in an Artificial Spin Ice”, Xiaoyu Zhang, Ayhan Duzgun, Yuyang Lao, Shayaan Subzwari, Nicholas S. Bingham, Joseph Sklenar, Hilal Saglam, Justin Ramberger, Joseph T. Batley, Justin D. Watts, Daniel Bromley, Rajesh V. Chopdekar, Liam O’Brien, Chris Leighton, Cristiano Nisoli and Peter Schiffer Nature Communications 12, 6514 (2021).
“Field-Tunable Interactions and Frustration in Underlayer-Mediated Artificial Spin Ice”, Susan Kempinger, Yu-Sheng Huang, Paul Lammert, Michael Vogel, Axel Hoffmann, Vincent H. Crespi, Peter Schiffer, and Nitin Samarth, Physical Review Letters 127, 117203 (2021).
“Artificial spin ice: Paths forward”, Peter Schiffer and Cristiano Nisoli, Applied Physics Letters 118, 110501 (2021).
“Field-Induced Magnetic Monopole Plasma in Artificial Spin Ice”, M. Goryca, X. Zhang, J. Li, A. L. Balk, J. D. Watts, C. Leighton, C. Nisoli, P. Schiffer, and S. A. Crooker, Physical Review X 11, 011042 (2021)
“Field-induced phase coexistence in an artificial spin ice,” Joseph Sklenar, Yuyang Lao, Alan Albrecht, Justin D. Watts, Cristiano Nisoli, Gia-Wei Chern & Peter Schiffer, Nature Physics 15, 191-195 (2019).
“Classical topological order in the kinetics of artificial spin ice,” Yuyang Lao, Francesco Caravelli, Mohammed Sheikh, Joseph Sklenar, Daniel Gardeazabal, Justin D Watts, Alan M Albrecht, Andreas Scholl, Karin Dahmen, Cristiano Nisoli, Peter Schiffer, Nature Physics 14, 723-727 (2018).
“Deliberate exotic magnetism via frustration and topology”, Cristiano Nisoli, Vassilios Kapaklis, and Peter Schiffer, Nature Physics 13, 200-203 (2017).
“Understanding magnetotransport signatures in networks of connected permalloy nanowires” B. L. Le, J.-S. Park, J. Sklenar, G.-W. Chern, C. Nisoli, J. Watts, M. Manno, D. W. Rench, N. Samarth, C. Leighton, P. Schiffer, Physical Review B 95, 060405(R) 1-5 (2017).
“Atomically engineered ferroic layers yield a room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic”, Julia A. Mundy, Charles M. Brooks, Megan E. Holtz, Jarrett A. Moyer, Hena Das, Alejandro F. Rebola, John T. Heron, James D. Clarkson, Steven M. Disseler, Zhiqi Liu, Alan Farhan, Rainer Held, Robert Hovden, Elliot Padgett, Qingyun Mao, Hanjong Paik, Rajiv Misra, Lena F. Kourkoutis, Elke Arenholz, Andreas Scholl, Julie A. Borchers, William D. Ratcliff, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Craig J. Fennie, Peter Schiffer, David A. Muller & Darrell G. Schlom Nature 537, 523-527 (2016).
“Frustration by design”, Ian Gilbert, Cristiano Nisoli and Peter Schiffer Physics Today 69, 54-59 (2016).
“Emergent reduced dimensionality by vertex frustration in artificial spin ice,” Ian Gilbert, Yuyang Lao, Isaac Carrasquillo, Liam O’Brien, Justin D. Watts, Michael Manno, Chris Leighton, Andreas Scholl, Cristiano Nisoli & Peter Schiffer Nature Physics 12, 162-165 (2016).
“Emergent ice rule and magnetic charge screening from vertex frustration in artificial spin ice,” Ian Gilbert, Gia-Wei Chern, Sheng Zhang, Liam O’Brien, Bryce Fore, Cristiano Nisoli, and Peter Schiffer, Nature Physics 10, 670-675 (2014).
“Artificial spin ice: Designing and imaging magnetic frustration,” Cristiano Nisoli, Roderich Moessner, and Peter Schiffer Reviews of Modern Physics 85, 1473-1490 (2013).
“Crystallites of magnetic charges in artificial spin ice,” Sheng Zhang, Ian Gilbert, Cristiano Nisoli, Gia-Wei Chern, Michael J. Erickson, Liam O’Brien, Chris Leighton, Paul E. Lammert, Vincent H. Crespi and Peter Schiffer, Nature 500, 553-557 (2013).