Magnetic nanowires utilized in developing permanent data storage capabilities

04/09/2014 - 00:00


By Professor Dr. Mathias Kläui -

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have achieved a major breakthrough in the development of methods of information processing in nanomagnets. Using a new trick, they have been able to induce synchronous motion of the domain walls in a ferromagnetic nanowire. This involved applying a pulsed magnetic field that was perpendicular to the plane of the domain walls. "This is a radically new solution," explained Professor Mathias Kläui of the Institute of Physics of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. "It enables us to move domain walls synchronously over a relatively large distance without them returning to their original position." This is essential for permanent data storage, because data would otherwise be lost if domain walls were not collectively displaced in a controlled manner. The research was carried out in cooperation with the working groups of Professor Stefan Eisebitt at TU Berlin and Professor Gisela Schütz of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications at the end of March.

READ MORE ON  JGU

Kim, J.-S. et al., Synchronous precessional motion of multiple domain walls in a ferromagnetic nanowire by perpendicular field pulses, Nature Communications 5:3429, 24 March 2014, 
DOI:10.1038/ncomms4429