Innovative approach to controlling magnetism opens route to ultra-low-power microchips

Phys.com  November 12, 2018
A team of researchers in the US (MIT, Brookhaven National Laboratory) has developed a device that consists of several thin layers, including a layer of cobalt where the magnetic changes take place, sandwiched between layers of a metal such as palladium or platinum, an overlay of gadolinium oxide, and a gold layer to connect to the driving electrical voltage. To change magnetic properties, they used hydrogen ions which can zip in and out very easily, making the new system much faster. Magnetism gets switched on with just a brief application of voltage and then stays put. Reversing it requires no power at all. The research could open the doors to memory, computing, and sensing devices…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Illustration shows how hydrogen ions  migrate through an intermediate material to change the magnetic properties of an adjacent magnetic layer. Credit: courtesy of the researchers, edited by MIT 

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