Materials science: Pushing spins around
Nature Communications
August 8, 2012
The near-room temperature motion of magnetic structures by very low current densities is reported this week in Nature Communications. This work could be utilized in the design of all-electrical novel information storage devices.
Xiuzhen Yu and colleagues report the motion of skyrmions - magnetic nanostructures with a vortex-like configuration of spins - in iron-germanium (FeGe) at temperatures only 25 K below room temperature. Skyrmion motion is achieved by electrical currents with densities below 100 A/cm2, which is 100,000 times less than for domain walls in metals. These findings may bring current-induced motion of spin textures closer to applications in information storage devices.
doi: 10.1038/ncomms1990
Research highlights
-
May 12
Geoscience: Monitoring earthquakes at the speed of lightNature
-
May 4
Microbiology: Bacteriophage therapy helps treat multi-drug resistant infection in an immunocompromised patientNature Communications
-
Apr 27
Planetary science: Building blocks of DNA detected in meteoritesNature Communications
-
Apr 8
Health: Psilocybin use associated with lower risk of opioid addictionScientific Reports
-
Apr 5
Energy: Winterizing the Texan energy infrastructure pays off in the long termNature Energy
-
Mar 17
Neuroscience: Sample size matters in studies linking brain scans to behaviourNature
