Revolutionary computer memories and processors constructed from magnetic materials offer a significant reduction in energy consumption compared to traditional silicon-based devices. These two-dimensional magnetic materials, consisting of ultra-thin atomic layers, possess remarkable properties that could potentially enable magnetic-based devices to achieve unparalleled speed, efficiency, and scalability.
This breakthrough is crucial as magnets made of atomically thin van der Waals materials typically require extremely low temperatures to be controlled, posing challenges for practical deployment beyond laboratory settings.
In a groundbreaking development published in Nature Communications, researchers successfully utilized pulses of electrical current to alter the magnetization direction of the device at room temperature. This magnetic switching capability can be harnessed for computation, akin to how a transistor toggles between open and closed states to represent binary code, or for computer memory, where switching facilitates data storage.
The team employed electron bursts to target a magnet composed of a novel material capable of maintaining its magnetism at elevated temperatures. The experiment capitalized on the inherent spin property of electrons, causing them to exhibit magnet-like behavior. By manipulating the spin of the electrons interacting with the device, the researchers were able to switch its magnetization.
Deblina Sarkar, the AT&T Career Development Assistant Professor in the MIT Media Lab and Center for Neurobiological Engineering, and head of the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek Lab, emphasized the remarkable efficiency of the heterostructure device they developed. Sarkar stated, “Our device requires an order of magnitude lower electrical current to switch the van der Waals magnet compared to bulk magnetic devices. It is also more energy efficient than other van der Waals magnets that are unable to switch at room temperature.”
2024-02-22 10:00:04
Post from phys.org