ZHOU, Yan

Professor

Presidential Fellow
Education Background

PhD [Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden]

MPhil (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

BS (University of Science and Technology of China)

Research Field
Spintronics, condensed matter physics, magnetic materials and devices
Class
Physics, Materials, Electrical Engineering
Personal Website
https://mypage.cuhk.edu.cn/academics/aspin/
Email
zhouyan@cuhk.edu.cn
Biography

Professor Yan Zhou earned his BSc from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2003, followed by an MSc from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2005. He completed his doctoral studies at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) in 2009, where he was honored with the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad during his PhD tenure. In 2015, Professor Zhou joined The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) as Associate Professor, establishing a multidisciplinary research team of over 15 members. He received tenure-track professorship in 2018 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2022, reflecting his sustained academic excellence.

The team focuses on research in the field of spintronics and nanomagnetic materials, with a dedication to addressing the challenges of miniaturizing and integrating electronic devices. The team is committed to seeking innovative, low-power devices and information processing solutions.

Professor ZHOU Yan supervised over twenty graduate students, one of whom received the “Outstanding Graduate Award” from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Among the postdoctoral researchers he supervised, four received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s Youth Fund. As the Principal Investigator (PI), Professor ZHOU Yan has led several competitive research projects and secured competitive research funding of over 50 million RMB.

In the past five years, Prof. Zhou has published over 100 JCR Q1 papers as first authors or corresponding authors. The team members have published more than 40 papers as first (or corresponding) authors in top-tier academic journals such as Nature Electronics, Nature Physics, Nature Communications, and Physical Review Letters (PRL). These papers have been cited over 16300 times by international peers, with H-index of 60. The team has also filed over 30 international and national invention patents. Over 50 research articles have been recognized as Highly Cited Papers in the Science Citation Index (SCI), with multiple works featured on the covers of prestigious academic journals. Their research has been widely covered by influential scientific news such as Nature Research, IOP Nanotechnology etc.

Professor ZHOU Yan has been invited to deliver invited talks at prestigious conferences such as the American Physical Society, the American Materials Research Society, and international conferences on magnetic materials. He has also served as a committee member for these conferences. Professor ZHOU Yan has been reviewer for Nature, Review of Modern Physics, Nature Materials, Nature Physics, and Nature Nanotechnology. He has also been invited to review research projects for organizations such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the French National Research Agency, the German Research Foundation, the European Union, and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission.

Professor ZHOU Yan and his research team have received the following research and teaching awards and honors:

Academic Publications

Some representative articles from the past few years:

  • “Topological transformation of synthetic ferromagnetic skyrmions: thermal assisted switching of helicity by spin-orbit torque”

Kai Wu (Research Group Member), Yuelei Zhao, Hongyuan Hao, Sheng Yang, Shuang Li, Qingfang Liu, Senfu Zhang*, Xixiang Zhang, Johan Akerman, Li Xi, Ying Zhang, Kaiming Cai and Yan Zhou*

Nature Communications,15, 10463 (2024).

 

  • “Topological Spin Textures: Basic Physics and Devices”

Yuqing Zhou (Research Group Member), Shuang Li, Xue Liang, Yan Zhou*

Advanced Materials,37, 2312935 (2024).

 

  • “Identifying and Exploring Synthetic Antiferromagnetic Skyrmions”

Y. Zhao (Research Group Member), S. Yang, K. Wu, S. Li, Y. Gao, H. Hao, X. Zhang, S. Wang, Q. Liu, S. Zhang*, Z. Chu, J. Åkerman, and Yan Zhou*

Advanced Functional Materials,2303133 (2023).

 

  • “Reversible Conversion Between Skyrmions and Skyrmioniums”

Sheng Yang (Research Group Member), Yuelei Zhao, Kai Wu, Zhiqin Chu, Xiaohong Xu, Xiaoguang Li, Johan Åkerman, and Yan Zhou*

Nature Communications,14, 3406 (2023).

 

  • “Universal quantum computations based on nano-skyrmion helicity qubits in frustrated magnets”

Jing Xia (Research Group Member), Xichao Zhang, Xiaoxi Liu, Yan Zhou*, Motohiko Ezawa*

Physical Review Letters,130, 106701(2023).

 

  • “Event-based Vision in Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect Microscopy”

Kai Zhang (Research Group Member), Yuelei Zhao, Z. Q. Chu, Yan Zhou*

AIP Advances,12, 095315 (2022). [Feature article]

Highlight: New “add-on” mimics human eye, elevates traditional microscopy technology.

Scilight "Integrating revolutionary sensor technology with Magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy,"

 

  • “A comparative study of the domain wall motion in ferrimagnets (Fe,Co)1−x(Gd,Tb)x”

Yuqing Zhou (Research Group Member), Teng Xu, Xue Liang, Le Zhao, Hengan Zhou, Wanjun Jiang*, and Yan Zhou*

Nanoscale,14, 13526 (2022). Front cover

 

  • “Current-induced dynamics and chaos of antiferromagnetic bimerons”

L. Shen (Research Group Member), J. Xia, X. Zhang, M. Ezawa, O. A. Tretiakov, X. Liu, G. Zhao*, and Yan Zhou*

Physical Review Letters,124, 037202 (2020).

 

  • “Detection of HIV-1 antigen based on magnetic tunnel junction sensor and magnetic nanoparticles”

L. Li (Research Group Member), K. Y. Mak, Yan Zhou*

Chinese Physics B,29, 088701 (2020). “Editor’s suggestion”

 

  • “Magnetic skyrmions: intriguing physics and new spintronic device concepts”

Yan Zhou*

National Science Review,vol. 6, No. 2, pp 210-212 (2019).