Publications

Nanoscale spatial tuning of superconductivity in cuprate thin films via direct laser writing
I. Biancardi et al. Advanced Functional Materials (2026).
We demonstrated a direct laser writing approach for the nanoscale engineering of the superconducting properties in YBCO thin films. Our approach enables the direct fabrication of superconducting nanostructures with tailored functionalities, opening new opportunities for nanoscale superconducting devices and for the investigation of fundamental phenomena in complex oxides.

Three-dimensional nanoscale control of magnetism in crystalline Yttrium Iron Garnet
V. Levati, M. Vitali et al. Nature Communications (2025).
We demonstrate a non-destructive method for writing three-dimensional magnetic patterns in crystalline Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) films using focused UV laser irradiation to locally enhance perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. This technique enables the precise fabrication of 3D magnonic crystals with tunable spin-wave properties, paving the way for advanced architectures in magnonic and magneto-optic devices.

Three-dimensional spin-wave dynamics, localization and interference in a synthetic antiferromagnet
D. Girardi et al. Nature Communications (2024).
We use X-Ray Microscopy Imaging for acquiring time-resolved snapshots of the spin dynamics in a synthetic antiferromagnet, with nanoscale spatial resolution and sub-nanosecond temporal resolution. This allowed us to retrieve the full three-dimensional structure of the spin-wave modes, revealing previously inaccessible features on their anatomy, propagation and interaction within the volume of the material.

Phase Nanoengineering via Thermal Scanning Probe Lithography and Direct Laser Writing
V. Levati et al. Advanced Materials Technologies (2023).
A perspective on Phase Nanoengineering. Nanomaterials and devices are created using advanced nanofabrication techniques to directly nanostructure condensed matter systems, by inducing highly controlled, localized, and stable changes in the electronic, magnetic, or optical properties.

Experimental Observation of Flat Bands in One-Dimensional Chiral Magnonic Crystals
S. Tacchi et al. Nano Letters (2023).
We study the band diagram of a chiral magnonic crystal consisting of a ferromagnetic film incorporating a periodic Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya coupling via interfacial contact with an array of heavy-metal nanowires. We provide experimental evidence for a strong asymmetry of the spin-wave amplitude and nonreciprocal propagation.

Thermal scanning probe lithography
E. Albisetti et al. Nature Reviews Methods Primers 2, 32 (2022).
We describe the working principles of Thermal scanning probe lithography (tSPL) and highlight the characteristics that make it a powerful tool to locally and directly modify material properties. We cover the applications of tSPL in biomedicine, nanomagnetism and nanoelectronics, and give an outlook on future developments.

Review on magnonics with engineered spin textures
D. Petti et al. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 55, 293003 (2022).
Spin textures, such as non-uniform domain arrangements, domain walls and skyrmions are naturally occurring structures in magnetic materials. In this review, we focus on the recent developments on the control and stabilization of engineered spin textures, and their applications in the field of magnonics.

The 2021 Magnonics Roadmap
A. Barman et al. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 33, 413001 (2021).
Magnonics is a budding research field in nanomagnetism and nanoscience that addresses the use of spin waves (magnons) to transmit, store, and process information. This is a collection of 22 sections written by leading experts in this field who review and discuss the current status besides presenting their vision of future perspectives.

Optically Inspired Nanomagnonics with Nonreciprocal Spin Waves in Synthetic Antiferromagnets
E. Albisetti et al. Advanced Materials, 32, 1906439 (2020).
An optically inspired platform using spin waves is realized, demonstrating the wavefront engineering, focusing, and robust interference of spin waves with nanoscale wavelength. Magnonic nanoantennas based on spin textures are used for launching spatially shaped coherent wavefronts, and generating robust multi-beam interference patterns.

Spatial defects nanoengineering for bipolar conductivity in MoS₂
X. Zheng et al. Nature Communications, 11, 1–12 (2020).
We demonstrate the integration of thermochemical scanning probe lithography (tc-SPL) with a flow-through reactive gas cell to achieve nanoscale control of defects in monolayer MoS2. The tc-SPL produced defects can present either p- or n-type doping on demand, allowing the realization of field effect transistors, and p-n junctions

Direct metal contacts on MoS2 with vanishing Schottky barrier via thermal nanolithography
X. Zheng et al. Nature Electronics, 2, 17–25 (2019).
We show that thermal scanning probe lithography can be used to pattern metal electrodes with high reproducibility, sub-10-nm resolution, and high throughput (10⁵ μm² h⁻¹ per single probe). We pattern metal electrodes in contact with monolayer MoS₂ realizing high-quality top-gate and back-gate field-effect transistors.

Nanoscale spin-wave circuits based on engineered reconfigurable spin-textures
E. Albisetti et al. Communications Physics, 1, 56 (2018).
We realize a nanoscale reconfigurable spin-wave circuitry by using patterned spin textures. We directly visualize the channeling and steering of propagating spin waves in arbitrarily shaped nanomagnonic waveguides and we demonstrate a prototypic circuit allowing for the tunable interference of confined spin-waves modes.

Stabilization and control of topological magnetic solitons via magnetic nanopatterning of exchange bias systems
E. Albisetti et al. Applied Physics Letters 113,162401 (2018).
We show the non-volatile creation of vortex-antivortex pairs in an exchange bias bilayer by tailoring vectorially the unidirectional anisotropy at the nanoscale, via thermally assisted magnetic scanning probe lithography. We demonstrate the stabilization of cross and circular Bloch lines within patterned Néel magnetic domain walls.

Nanopatterning reconfigurable magnetic landscapes via thermally assisted scanning probe lithography
E. Albisetti et al. Nature Nanotechnology, 11 (6), 545–551 (2016).
We create reconfigurable magnetic nanopatterns by crafting, at the nanoscale, the magnetic anisotropy landscape of an exchange-biased ferromagnetic film. By scanning the hot tip of a scanning probe microscope, spin textures are directly and reversibly patterned, and used for controlling the excitation and propagation of spin waves.

Thermochemical scanning probe lithography of protein gradients at the nanoscale
E. Albisetti et al. Nanotechnology, 27, 315302 (2016).
We demonstrate the use of thermochemical scanning probe lithography (tc-SPL) for defining micro- and nano-sized patterns with precisely controlled protein concentration. First, tc-SPL is performed by scanning a hot atomic force microscopy tip on a polymeric substrate, then the substrate is functionalized with streptavidin and laminin proteins.

Magnetic nanopatterning via thermal scanning probe lithography
E. Albisetti, D. Petti, R. Bertacco, E. Riedo
Book chapter in “Nanofabrication”, Edited by José Maria De Teresa, IOP Publishing (2020).

A comprehensive edited volume on important and up-to-date nanolithography techniques and applications. The book includes an introduction on the importance of nanolithography in today’s research and technology, providing examples of its applications.

The remainder of the book is split into two sections. The first section contains the most important and established nanolithography techniques. As well as a detailed description of each technique, the reader can obtain useful information about the main advantages and drawbacks of each technique in terms of resolution, throughput, number of steps needed, cost, etc. At the end of this section, the reader will be able to decide which technique to use for different applications.

The second section explores more specific applications of the nanolithography techniques previously described; as well as new techniques and applications. In some cases, the processes described in these chapters involve a combination of several nanolithography techniques. This section is less general but provides the reader with real examples.

Patterned spin-textures for magnonics
E. Albisetti, D. Petti, R. Bertacco
Book chapter in “Three-Dimensional Magnonics”, Edited by Gianluca Gubbiotti, CRC Press (2019).

Magnonics, a research field that uses spin waves, collective excitations of ordered magnetic materials, or magnons (their quanta) as a tool for signal processing, communication, and computation, has rapidly grown during the past decade because of the low-energy consumption and potential compatibility with next-generation circuits beyond CMOS electronics. The interest in 3D magnonic nanostructures follows the latest trend in conventional electronics based on expansion from 2D planar to 3D vertically integrated structures. To remain on the same technological level, a similar expansion should be realized in magnonics.

Following this trend, this book provides an overview of recent developments in the exploitation of the third dimension in magnonics, with special focus on the propagation of spin waves in layered magnonic crystals, spin textures, curved surfaces, 3D nano-objects, and cavity magnonics. The book is unique in that it addresses, as an alternative to physical patterning, hybrid heterostructures in the form of bilayer systems (metal–insulator, metal-heavy metal, metal–antiferromagnet, and metal–ferroelectric), where new properties of spin waves emerge from interactions between the continuous magnetic film, where spin waves propagate, and the nonmagnetic component, which induces periodic modulation of either the static or the dynamic internal magnetic field of the magnetic film itself. The book comprises 11 chapters written by outstanding international research groups in the field of magnonics and will appeal to anyone involved in magnonics, spintronics, nanotechnology, microwave applications, and nanomagnetism.

R. Bertacco, D. Petti, G. Ferrari, E. Albisetti, M. Giacometti, “Device and method for the quantification of cellular and non-cellular blood components”, US 2021/0086182 A1 (2021)

R. Bertacco, D. Petti, E. Albisetti, E. Riedo, “Method and equipment for magnetic nanopatterning of substrates”, US 2016/0172092 A1 (2016).