Items Tagged With Spintronics

Scientists have created novel “spintronic” devices that could point the way for the next generation of more powerful and permanent data storage chips in computers. Physicist at the Universities of Bath, Bristol and Leeds have discovered a way to precisely control the pattern of magnetic fields in thin magnetic films, which can be used to store information.

University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) Engineering adjunct professor Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner, researcher Alexander Khitun and professor Kang Wang have created three novel nanoscale computational architectures using a technology they pioneered called “spin-wave buses” as the mechanism for interconnection. The three nanoscale architectures are not only power efficient, but also possess a high degree of interconnectivity.

Scientists at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory have demonstrated how a single molecule can be switched between two distinct conductive states, which allows it to store data. As published in Small, these experiments show that certain types of molecules reveal intrinsic molecular functionalities that are comparable to devices used in today’s semiconductor technology. This finding is yet another promising result to emerge from IBM’s research labs in their efforts to explore and develop novel technologies for the post-CMOS era.

Researchers at Ohio University have created an improved magnetic semiconductor that solves a problem spintronics scientists have been investigating for years. Unlike classic or vintage electronics that operate on electronic charges, spin-based electronics focuses on the spin of electrons to carry and store information. Researchers predict spintronics will revolutionise the electronics industry by making devices faster, improving storage capacity and reducing the amount of power needed to run them.

Detecting cancer and reinventing computing are two challenges that seemingly have little, if anything, to do with each other. That is, unless you are a nanotechnologist like Shan Wang, an associate professor of materials science and engineering and of electrical engineering at Stanford. To him, the problems are two sides of the same coin, or more aptly, opposite poles of the same magnet.