# Pietro Gambardella
**Pietro Gambardella** is an Italian condensed-matter physicist who holds the Chair of Magnetism and Interface Physics and became head of the Materials Department at [ETH Zurich](https://www.edgepedia.org/eth-zurich), where he studies magnetism and spin transport in thin-film heterostructures.[1](https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella) He is known for work on current-induced magnetization switching in heavy-metal heterostructures, for the first observation of ferromagnetism in one-dimensional monatomic metal chains, and for current-driven [skyrmion dynamics](https://www.edgepedia.org/skyrmion-dynamics) in magnetic insulators.[2](https://www.nature.com/articles/416301a) • [3](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10309) • [4](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.08183) His research covers the magnetic and transport properties of thin-film heterostructures and spintronic devices, single atom magnets, and experimental techniques that probe magnetic phenomena with high temporal and spatial resolution.[5](https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Spintronics and magnetism in thin films (condensed matter physics)[5](https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella) |
| Position | Chair of Magnetism and Interface Physics and Head of the Materials Department, ETH Zurich[1](https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella) |
| Training | Laurea in physics, University of Genova; PhD in physics, EPFL, 2000, thesis directed by K. Kern[6](https://www.fkf.mpg.de/503000/dok20-gambardella-2000.pdf) |
| Signature work | "Perpendicular switching of a single ferromagnetic layer induced by in-plane current injection", *Nature*, 2011[3](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10309) |
| Career dates | Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics, 2001; ICREA Research Professor, Barcelona, 2006–2012; ETH Zurich since 2013[5](https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella) • [1](https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella) |
| Honours | Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2023[7](https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/200465) |
## Career
Gambardella graduated in physics (*laureato in fisica*) from the Università degli Studi di Genova and completed his doctorate at the [École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne](https://www.edgepedia.org/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne), where his thesis "Growth, electronic structure and magnetism of supported metal nanowires" was accepted in 2000 as Thesis No. 2184, with Prof. K. Kern as thesis director.[6](https://www.fkf.mpg.de/503000/dok20-gambardella-2000.pdf) The thesis described experiments with one-dimensional atomic chains grown by step decoration of vicinal platinum surfaces, the line of work that led to the 2002 monatomic-chain paper.[6](https://www.fkf.mpg.de/503000/dok20-gambardella-2000.pdf)
He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics in [Stuttgart](https://www.edgepedia.org/stuttgart) in 2001 and a research assistant at EPFL until 2005.[5](https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella) In 2006 he was appointed ICREA Research Professor and Group Leader of the Atomic Manipulation and Spectroscopy Laboratory at the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology in Barcelona, a position he held from 2006 to 2012, before moving to ETH Zurich in 2013.[5](https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella) • [1](https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella) At ETH he holds the Chair of Magnetism and Interface Physics in the Department of Materials and became Head of that department.[1](https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella)
## Representative work
The 2011 *Nature* letter "Perpendicular switching of a single ferromagnetic layer induced by in-plane current injection", with Gambardella as corresponding senior author, demonstrated room-temperature switching of a perpendicularly magnetized cobalt dot driven by current injected in the plane of the film.[3](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10309) The device used a thin cobalt layer with strong perpendicular anisotropy and a Rashba interaction (spin splitting from asymmetric electric fields at interfaces) induced by asymmetric platinum and AlOx interface layers; switching efficiency increased with the cobalt anisotropy and with oxidation of the uppermost aluminum layer, pointing to a key role for the Rashba interaction, while the switching symmetry was also consistent with spin Hall torque from the platinum layer.[3](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10309) The authors built a reprogrammable magnetic switch described as simple, scalable, compatible with present-day magnetic recording technology, and integrable into non-volatile memory and logic architectures.[3](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10309) [Paul Scherrer Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-scherrer-institute) records this work as pioneering a method to switch thin films and nanostructured magnetic elements using bilayer bits that combine a storage layer with a heavy-metal charge-spin conversion layer.[8](https://www.psi.ch/en/microspec/scientific-highlights/time-and-spatially-resolved-magnetization-dynamics-driven-by-spin)
The 2011 experiment grew out of earlier single-atom and single-chain magnetism work. In 2002, Gambardella was first author of a *Nature* letter demonstrating short- and long-range ferromagnetic order in monatomic cobalt chains constructed on a platinum substrate; the chains showed large localized orbital moments and correspondingly large magnetic anisotropy energies compared with two-dimensional films and bulk cobalt, and below a threshold temperature their thermally fluctuating segments evolved into a long-range-ordered ferromagnetic state owing to anisotropy barriers.[2](https://www.nature.com/articles/416301a) The result was reported as the first observation of ferromagnetism in one-dimensional monatomic chains of metal atoms.[9](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020326073742.htm)
His group followed the 2011 demonstration by resolving how fast such switching can be. In a 2017 study, a cobalt dot 500 nanometers in diameter was inverted by electric current pulses flowing through an adjacent platinum wire, with X-ray imaging at the [Swiss Light Source](https://www.edgepedia.org/swiss-light-source) showing that the reversal took less than one nanosecond, faster than in other recently studied techniques.[10](https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2017/09/fast-magnetic-writing-of-data.html) In 2022 the group demonstrated room-temperature interfacial stabilization and current-driven control of skyrmion bubbles in the ferrimagnetic insulator Tm3Fe5O12 coupled to platinum, tracking the motion of individual bubbles under current.[4](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.08183) The bubbles showed a strong skyrmion [Hall effect](https://www.edgepedia.org/hall-effect) with negative deflection angle and hopping motion, and exchanging Tm3Fe5O12 with an in-plane magnetized Y3Fe5O12 layer modified the velocity and depinning threshold, producing a magnetic ratchet used to control skyrmion flow in a racetrack-like device.[4](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.08183)
## Research group and methods
The [Magnetism](https://www.edgepedia.org/magnetism) and Interface Physics group investigates magnetic materials and interface systems for applications in magnetoelectronics such as magnetic memories and sensors.[11](https://mat.ethz.ch/research/research-groups/magnetism-and-interface-physics.html) Its areas of expertise include deposition and characterization of thin-film multilayer systems, design of spintronic devices, development of novel magnetic probes, magnetoresistance and Hall effects, spin torques, and single atom magnets, using synchrotron radiation spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy, magneto-optics, and electrical probes.[11](https://mat.ethz.ch/research/research-groups/magnetism-and-interface-physics.html)
## Spin–orbit torques in context
The heavy-metal heterostructure approach the group uses is one of several ways to write magnetic bits electrically. A 2022 benchmarking study compared spin–orbit torque (SOT) and spin-transfer torque (STT) devices on error rate, write time and write current for both in-plane and perpendicular geometries, considering field-assisted, STT-assisted, and out-of-plane spin-torque write mechanisms for SOT-driven perpendicular devices.[12](https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apl/article/121/11/112406/2834245/Benchmarking-of-spin-orbit-torque-vs-spin-transfer) On the industry side, tungsten-based top-pinned perpendicular SOT magnetic tunnel junctions have been demonstrated on 300 mm wafers with CMOS-compatible processes, switching at 210 picoseconds with power as low as 130 picojoules on 60 nm devices and endurance above 1011 cycles, positioning SOT-MRAM as a candidate to replace SRAM in low-level caches.[13](https://doi.org/10.1109/imw.2019.8739466)
## Recent directions, 2024–2026
A January 2024 study characterized the incubation and transition times of spin–orbit-torque switching in perpendicular nanomagnets, modeling their stochastic distributions with log-normal and gamma functions tied to a single nucleation barrier and multiple pinning sites respectively, and showed that the two times are correlated through the temperature rise during the current pulse.[14](https://browse.arxiv.org/html/2401.05704v1) In 2026 the group demonstrated field-free spin–orbit-torque switching in W/CoFeB bilayers by patterning lateral gradients of the tungsten crystalline phase through direct-write laser annealing; in the processed regions the tungsten resistivity fell from about 180 to under 25 micro-ohm centimeters and the SOT efficiency dropped from about 0.4 to below 0.1.[15](https://arxiv.org/html/2601.01429) A June 2026 paper demonstrated nanosecond magnetization switching of cobalt films driven by orbital currents from CuOx, arising from the orbital [Rashba–Edelstein effect](https://www.edgepedia.org/rashba-edelstein-effect) and converted into spin currents by an ultrathin platinum spacer; time-resolved Hall measurements separated incubation and propagation phases and showed that orbital currents drive switching at relatively low electric fields compared with platinum devices, while [Joule heating](https://www.edgepedia.org/joule-heating) assists by lowering the effective energy barriers.[16](https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76542) This work was supported by a Swiss National Science Foundation project "Interconversion of charge, spin and heat currents in spintronic devices" (grant 200465, 820,696 CHF) that ran from 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2025 at ETH Zurich.[7](https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/200465) He gave the ICMAB colloquium "Perspectives on classical and quantum spintronics" on 16 June 2025.[5](https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella)
## Honours and service
Gambardella was elected a Fellow of the [American Physical Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-physical-society) in 2023.[7](https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/200465) He served as a member of the [European Research Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-research-council)'s Review Panel in Condensed Matter Physics from 2019 to 2023 and chaired that panel for Consolidator Grants in 2023, declining further participation afterwards.[7](https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/200465) He gave a plenary lecture at the Institute of Physics Magnetism 2023 conference.[1](https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella)
## References
1. Magnetism 2023 – Plenary Lecture: Pietro Gambardella. https://iop.eventsair.com/magnetism2023/pietro-gambardella
2. Ferromagnetism in one-dimensional monatomic metal chains. *Nature* 416, 301–304 (2002). https://www.nature.com/articles/416301a
3. Perpendicular switching of a single ferromagnetic layer induced by in-plane current injection. *Nature* (2011). https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10309
4. Current-driven dynamics and ratchet effect of skyrmion bubbles in a ferrimagnetic insulator (preprint). https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.08183
5. ICMAB – Perspectives on classical and quantum spintronics, by Pietro Gambardella. https://icmab.es/perspectives-on-classical-and-quantum-spintronics-by-pietro-gambardella
6. Growth, electronic structure and magnetism of supported metal nanowires (EPFL Thesis No. 2184, 2000). https://www.fkf.mpg.de/503000/dok20-gambardella-2000.pdf
7. SNSF grant 200465: Interconversion of charge, spin and heat currents in spintronic devices. https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/200465
8. Time- and spatially-resolved magnetization dynamics driven by spin-orbit torques. Paul Scherrer Institute. https://www.psi.ch/en/microspec/scientific-highlights/time-and-spatially-resolved-magnetization-dynamics-driven-by-spin
9. Magnetism to its lowest terms: first observation of ferromagnetism in one-dimensional monatomic chains. ScienceDaily (2002). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/03/020326073742.htm
10. Fast magnetic writing of data. ETH News, September 2017. https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2017/09/fast-magnetic-writing-of-data.html
11. Magnetism and Interface Physics – Department of Materials, ETH Zurich. https://mat.ethz.ch/research/research-groups/magnetism-and-interface-physics.html
12. Benchmarking of spin–orbit torque vs spin-transfer torque devices. *Applied Physics Letters* 121, 112406 (2022). https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apl/article/121/11/112406/2834245/Benchmarking-of-spin-orbit-torque-vs-spin-transfer
13. Spin-Orbit Torque MRAM for ultrafast embedded memories: from fundamentals to large scale technology integration. IEEE IMW (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/imw.2019.8739466
14. Deterministic and stochastic aspects of current-induced magnetization reversal in perpendicular nanomagnets (preprint). https://browse.arxiv.org/html/2401.05704v1
15. Generating unconventional spin-orbit torques with patterned phase gradients in tungsten thin films (preprint). https://arxiv.org/html/2601.01429
16. Time-Resolved Magnetization Switching Dynamics Driven by Orbital Torques. *Advanced Functional Materials* (2026). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76542
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Physical and mathematical scientists › Physicists and astronomers › Researchers in condensed matter physics and quantum materials › Spintronics and magnetism in thin films*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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