Researchers observed magnetic behavior in nanoparticles; and the finding could greatly benefit the future of tiny memory devices.
One of the greatest challenges in shrinking down technology such as cell phones and tablets is recreating magnetic effects "at a nanometer scale," a Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona news release reported.
A research team was able to recreate antiferromagnetic coupling (a process extremely important in creating magnetic devices) between layers in particles measuring between 10 and 20 nanometers.
Antiferromagnetic coupling occurs when layers of varied magnetic properties are coupled; this allows researchers to have better control over the entire device.
This type of phenomenon can be found in a number of technological devices such as data reading systems, hard drives, and the MRAM memories of cell phones and computers.
The researchers were able to recreate the coupling in tiny particles measuring at only a few nanometers for the first time in history.
The team accomplished the feat using iron-oxide particles encased in manganese-oxide; and inversely, manganese-oxide particles surrounded by a layer of iron-oxide.
The accomplishment provides an unprecedented control of the magnetic behaviour of nanoparticles," the news release reported. The method allows scientists to easily adjust specific parts of the device without needing to change the "shape or composition" of the whole thing; instead it can be controlled through temperature and the surrounding magnetic field.
"We've been able to reproduce a magnetic [behavior] not previously observed in nanoparticles, and this paves the way for miniaturisation up to limits which seemed impossible for magnetic storage and other more sophisticated applications such as spin filters, magnetic codifiers and multi-level recording", Josep Nogués, ICREA research professor, and Maria Dolors Baró, professor of Applied Physics said in the news release.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications and was a collaboration between Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Department of Physics and the Institut Catala de Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia, and the Universitat de Barcelona.
