Description of the thesis topic

Yttrium-Iron garnet, doped or not with cerium, is a magneto-optical (MO) material with a strong Faraday effect, offering potential applications in insulators or circulators in integrated optics platforms. Faced with the technological challenge of integrating it into these platforms, this project proposes to achieve Ce-YIG nanoparticles (NPs) with optimized size, morphology and functionalization aimed at developing a Ce-YIG@Au/alkoxysilanes composite MO material. The NPs (size less than 20 nm), synthesized by a solvothermal process based on YAG seeds, will be coated with a layer of gold to give them interesting magneto-plasmonic properties. The resulting core-shell particles will then be surface-functionalized and dispersed in formulation alkoxysilane-based sol. The NPs will also be optimized to obtain single-domain nano-rods whose shape anisotropy gives a preferred direction to the magnetic moment. By orienting these moments during elaboration, the final composite will have a magnetic remanence enabling a self-polarized MO material to be obtained. The final composite material will then be inserted at the heart of unconventional photonic devices, such as a suspended-core fiber, to create integrated insulators.

Work Context

This thesis, funded by the ANR (AAP 2024, CANDYCE project), will be part of a collaboration between the CIN (Colloides INorganiques) team of the PHENIX laboratory (UMR 8234, Paris), the Photoluminescent Materials group of the ICCF (UMR 6296, Clermont-Ferrand) and the LaHC (UMR 5516, Saint-Etienne)

Constraints and risks

Handling chemicals and nanomaterials

Additional Information

The candidate must hold a Research Master's degree in Chemistry with a specialization in Materials. He/she should have skills in :
- Inorganic synthesis methods
- Knowledge of nanomaterials and colloidal solutions
- Standard nanomaterial characterization techniques: XRD, TEM, SQUID