Enabling Spintronic Computing Through Control of Electromagnetics
New handle for controlling electromagnetic properties could enable spintronic computing
In brief…
+ Materials scientists at Duke University have shown the first clear example that a material’s transition into a magnet can control instabilities in its crystalline structure that cause it to change from a conductor to an insulator.
“It’s surprising that, even though you have a compound that is relatively simple, you can have this fancy mechanism that could end up enabling new technologies,” said Delaire. “In a sense, it’s a wakeup call that we need to reconsider some of the simpler materials to look for similar effects elsewhere.”
+ If researchers can learn to control this unique connection between physical properties identified in hexagonal iron sulfide, it could enable new technologies such as spintronic computing. The results appear April 13 in the journal Nature Physics.
+ The ability to tune a material’s magnetic state by applying electrical currents, and vice versa, would be essential for the realization of technologies such as spin electronics, Delaire said. Known as spintronics for short, this emerging field seeks to use an electron’s intrinsic spin and associated magnetic moment to store and manipulate data. Combined with an electron’s traditional role in computing, this would allow computer processors to become denser and more efficient.
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