Modeling and simulation of physical phenomena in materials is vital to drive their functional behavior and enable multifaceted applications in the domains of low-power logic and memory, sensing, and wireless communication. In this talk, I will present key analytic and numerical techniques that I have developed to handle complex nanoscale dynamics in various material structures, thereby bridging the gap between physics and applications development.

I will begin my talk by briefly introducing an analytic model, inspired by the Landauer-Boltzmann approach, to describe the statics and dynamics of ultra-scaled transistor geometries using materials, such as silicon-on-insulator, III-nitrides, and Ga2O3, which have the foundational capability to realize next-generation wireless systems.      

The talk will then gravitate toward modeling of dynamics in fine magnetic bodies that are susceptible to random thermal effects. In this context, I will discuss the non-classical jump-noise method to describe noisy dynamics at low temperature, as well as quantum tunneling of magnetization, in single-domain magnets. I will also discuss switching dynamics in multi-domain magnetic bodies, particularly in the antiferromagnet Cr2O3, which owing to its magnetoelectricity can be switched all-electrically to enable a low-power and ultra-fast substrate for logic and memory applications. Very briefly, I will also discuss our recent work in developing a general theory of damped driven pendulum like dynamics in biaxial antiferromagnets subject to spin torque. Such dynamics can be detected as an auto-oscillating coherent or Dirac comb electrical signal with applications in terahertz imaging and sensing and neuromorphic computing. 

I will conclude my talk by presenting unique applications that are enabled by combining the physics of magnetization dynamics with circuit design principles. Examples include approximate and error-tolerant circuits and imprecise machines that can identify complex, nonlinear process dynamics in real-time.

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Dr. Shaloo Rakheja started as an Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Oct. 2019. From 2015-2019, Shaloo was an Assistant Professor in ECE at New York University.  Prior to joining NYU, she was a postdoctoral associate at the Microsystems Technology Laboratories at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Shaloo received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

Her current research focus is modeling and simulation of nanoelectronic and magnetic devices for energy-efficient computing. She has successfully attracted funding from the National Science Foundation, Semiconductor Research Corporation, and The Boeing Co. for her research in terahertz spintronics, plasmonics, and wide bandgap semiconductors for RF applications. She has received several awards including the 2018 NYU Goddard Junior Faculty Fellowship, the NSF Career Research Initiation Award in 2016, the Intel PhD Fellowship for the academic year 2011-2012, and the ECE Graduate Research Assistant Excellence Award for the academic year 2011-2012.

In her spare time, Shaloo enjoys writing and reading poetry, listening to Jazz, and visiting museums.