New synthetic material for fast and cheap data storage
"The iron is ferromagnetic - all the spins have the same magnitude and direction. It is therefore possible to create a net magnetic moment by combining two layers of different thicknesses and opposing magnetization directions, for example," Rasing said.
"Coupling the spins works in a very similar manner, in the same two-step process that we previously developed for the normal ferrimagnets," he said.
When Rasing came up with his concept for the synthetic magnet, he contacted a group in York that could model the switching process.
"Their model showed that it really did work, and so we applied for a joint patent. It immediately became a hot topic, and there are already groups in San Diego, France and Germany working on actually producing and testing the synthetic ferrimagnets," he added.
The findings were published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
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