Phys.org March 18, 2024 Researchers in Austria produced a sub-terahertz holographic image of a two-dimensional 576-bit data code using a diffractive phase-plate element. The phase plate was designed to encode a focused image of the data code into a phase modulation profile. The complex phase plate structure is fabricated from polylactic acid using fused deposition modeling, a common three-dimensional-printing technique. The simplified optical setup, consisted of a 0.14 THz diverging source, the holographic phase plate, and a scanning detector, without the need for additional optical elements. The information stored in the data code was an example of a cryptographic private […]
Tag Archives: Data storage
Novel approach to advanced electronics, data storage with ferroelectricity
Phys.org October 16, 2023 Ferroelectrics possess a spontaneous polarization that is switchable by an electric field and is critical for the development of low energy nanoelectronics and neuromorphic applications. However, the realization of switchable polarization in metal oxides with simpler structures has been a major challenge. An international team of researchers (Australia, India) demonstrated the presence of robust switchable polarization at the level of a single nanocrystalline in magnesium-doped zinc oxide thin films with polar wurtzite crystal structures. Voltage control of the polarization and the coupled electronic transport behavior revealed a giant resistance change of approximately 10000% . Time- and […]
Study hints at new way to improve on spintronics for future tech
Nanowerk October 13, 2023 An international team of researchers (USA- Ohio State University, Sweden, UK) used a new method involving the reflection of polarized light on thin films of light metal chromium, successfully detected the orbital Hall effect. The orbital polarization was in-plane, transverse to the current direction, and scaled linearly with current density, consistent with the orbital Hall effect. Comparing the thickness-dependent magneto-optical measurements with ab initio calculations, they estimated an orbital diffusion length in Cr of 6.6±0.6nm. The potential application of this discovery in spintronics could lead to improve data storage in the next generation of computer devices […]
Shape memory achieved for nano-sized objects
Phys.org March 9, 2023 Magnetoelectric (ME) oxide materials can convert magnetic input into electric output and vice versa, making them excellent candidates for advanced sensing, data storage, and communication. However, their application has been limited to rigid devices due to their brittle nature. An international team of researcher (Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Spain) has developed flexible ME oxide composite (BaTiO3/CoFe2O4) thin film nanostructures with distinct ME coupling coefficients. In contrast to rigid bulk counterparts, these ceramic nanostructures displayed a flexible behavior after being released from the substrate, and could be transferred onto a stretchable substrate such as polydimethylsiloxane. These ceramic […]
Antiferromagnetic hybrids achieve important functionality for spintronic applications
Phys.org August 23, 2033 Previous studies have shown spin injection and detection in antiferromagnet/nonmagnetic metal bilayers; however, spin injection in these systems has been found effective only at cryogenic temperatures. An international team of researchers (USA – UC Riverside, University of Utah, Germany) has demonstrated sizable interfacial spin transport in a hybrid antiferromagnet/ferromagnet system, consisting of Cr2O3 and permalloy, which remains robust up to the room temperature. They examined their experimental data within a spin diffusion model and found evidence for the important role of interfacial magnon pumping in the signal generation. The results bridge spin-orbitronic phenomena of ferromagnetic metals […]
Writing with light on titania: Rewritable UV-sensitive surfaces made from doped TiO2 nanocrystals
Phys.org May 30, 2022 Nanocrystalline TiO2, a semiconductor, darkens when irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light due to charge separation and reduction of titanium atoms. The color change is not permanent because oxygen in the air re-oxidizes the titanium and causes a return to transparency. To sustain the color change for a longer period researchers at UC Riverside used nitrogen as a dopant and decorated the crystals with a common non-toxic substance diethylene glycol which played a crucial role in the color change. Using light-writing methods they produced patterns or printed text by illuminating the paper or glass substrate through a […]
Scientists successfully manipulate a single skyrmion at room temperature
Nanowerk November 24, 2021 The key to creating spintronics devices is the ability to effectively manipulate, and measure, a single tiny vortex. Researchers in Japan used a thin magnetic plate made up of a compound of cobalt, zinc, and manganese which is known as a chiral-lattice magnet. They directly observed the dynamics of a single skyrmion at room temperature and tracked the motions of the skyrmion and control its Hall motion directions by flipping the magnetic field when they subjected it to ultrafast pulses of electric current—on the scale of nanoseconds. They found that the skyrmion’s motion demonstrated a dynamic […]
New family of ferroelectric materials raises possibilities for improved information and energy storage
Phys.org August 31, 2021 Researchers at Pennsylvania State University used magnesium-substituted zinc oxide thin films to make tiny capacitors. They could set their polarization orientation so that their surface charge is either plus or minus. The setting is nonvolatile. This type of storage requires no additional energy. The magnesium-substituted zinc oxide thin films can be deposited at much lower temperatures than other ferroelectric materials. Substrate temperature can be lowered to ambient conditions, and when doing so, capacitor stacks show only minor sacrifices to crystal orientation and nearly identical remanent polarization values; however, coercive fields drop below 2 MV/cm. This ability could […]
Emergent magnetic monopoles controlled at room temperature
Phys.org August 6, 2021 3D nano-architectures are promising for the realization of 3D magnetic nano-networks for ultra-fast and low-energy data storage. Frustration in these systems can lead to magnetic monopoles, which can function as mobile, binary information carriers. However, Dirac strings in 2D artificial spin ices bind magnetic charges, while 3D dipolar counterparts require cryogenic temperatures for their stability. An international team of researchers (Austria, USA – Los Alamos National Laboratory) used micromagnetic simulations to demonstrate that the mobility threshold for magnetic charges is by 2 eV lower than their unbinding energy. By applying global magnetic fields, they steered magnetic charges […]
Catching electrons in action in an antiferromagnetic nanowire
Science Daily March 16, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (Michigan Technological University, Iowa State University) used a predictive quantum many-body theory that considers electron-electron interactions. The team found that chromium-doped nanowires with a germanium core and silicon shell can be an antiferromagnetic semiconductor. The origin of antiferromagnetic spin alignments between Cr is attributed to the super exchange interaction mediated by the pz orbitals of the Ge atoms that are bonded to Cr. A weak spin–orbit interaction in this material, suggested a longer spin coherence length. The spin-dependent quantum transport calculations in the Cr-doped nanowire junction revealed a […]