A team of New York University and University of Barcelona physicists has developed a method to control the movements occurring within magnetic materials, which are used to store and carry information. The breakthrough could simultaneously bolster information processing while reducing the energy necessary to do so.
Their method, reported in the most recent issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, manipulates “spin waves,” which are waves that move in magnetic materials. Physically, these spin waves are much like water waves—like those that propagate on the surface of an ocean. However, like electromagnetic waves (i.e., light and radio waves), spin waves can efficiently transfer energy and information from place to place.
READ MORE ON NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Ref: Ferran Macià, Dirk Backes, Andrew D. Kent. Stable magnetic droplet solitons in spin-transfer nanocontacts. Nature Nanotechnology, 2014; DOI:10.1038/nnano.2014.255
Physicists manipulate spin waves to greatly enhance information processing while decreasing energy consumption
