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Reviewing multiferroics for future, low-energy data storage

A new UNSW study comprehensively reviews the magnetic structure of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), a multiferroic material that displays both magnetic and electronic ordering at room temperature. This unique property allows for low-energy switching in data storage devices, making it a promising material for future, low-energy data storage.

Over $10 million awarded to Penn State for energy center

The US Department of Energy has awarded Penn State over $10 million to develop new ferroelectric memory materials that can be stacked in the third dimension above processor chips. This breakthrough technology aims to mitigate the von Neumann bottleneck, allowing for seamless communication between memory and computation.

Science snapshots July 2020

A Berkeley Lab-led team has gained insight into bacterial DNA packing, enabling potential control over microbial behavior. Researchers at JBEI have developed synthetic biology tools unlocking complex plant engineering, allowing for more sophisticated traits in plants. High-performance windows with reduced energy consumption will be ins...

SourceDOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory·JournalNature Communications·DateJul 1, 2020

Toward a more energy-efficient spintronics

Researchers at Spintec Laboratory and CNRS/Thales Laboratory developed a non-magnetic system to detect spin information at low power. This breakthrough enables the creation of ferroelectricity-based spintronic devices that consume significantly less energy than traditional systems.

SourceCNRS·JournalNature·DateApr 22, 2020

When human expertise improves the work of machines

Researchers develop a technique called dimensional stacking to improve data analysis for materials scientists. By organizing data based on physical and chemical properties, machines can gain insights into complex materials like ferroelectrics. This approach shows that human experience still has a role in the age of machine intelligence.

SourceGeorgia Institute of Technology·Journalnpj Computational Materials·DateAug 15, 2019

How spin dances with dipole

Researchers have discovered three key paths for coupling magnetism and ferroelectricity, enabling the interaction between spin moments and electric dipoles in solids. This breakthrough has significant implications for materials science and engineering.

SourceScience China Press·JournalNational Science Review·DateMar 21, 2019

Laser-fabricated crystals in glass are ferroelectric

A team of researchers has demonstrated that laser-generated crystals in glass can be manipulated to control their ferroelectric domain structure. This allows for the creation of new optical devices with high efficiency and low loss links, crucial for future quantum information transfer systems.

SourceLehigh University·JournalMRS Communications·DateJan 29, 2019

Nanosized ferroelectrics become a reality

Researchers at the University of Groningen have successfully created nanosized ferroelectric materials using hafnium oxide, which can store information like magnetic bits. The discovery could lead to more efficient and compact computer memory by leveraging the unique properties of these materials.

SourceUniversity of Groningen·JournalNature Materials·DateOct 22, 2018

Relax, just break it

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory used novel tools to study local order in relaxor ferroelectrics, revealing a correlation between butterfly-shaped diffuse scattering and piezoelectric behavior. This discovery could lead to the development of non-lead-based materials with improved properties.

SourceDOE/Argonne National Laboratory·JournalNature Materials·DateJul 19, 2018

Rutgers physicists create new class of 2D artificial materials

A Rutgers-led international team of scientists has verified a 53-year-old theory on ferroelectric metals, creating a new class of two-dimensional artificial materials that exhibit ferroelectric-like properties at room temperature. These findings have the potential to spawn a new generation of multi-functional devices and applications.

SourceRutgers University·JournalNature Communications·DateJun 11, 2018

Designing a new material for improved ultrasound

Researchers at Penn State designed a new material with twice the piezo response of existing commercial ferroelectric ceramics. The material's unique structure increases its dielectric properties and piezoelectric effect, making it suitable for medical ultrasound applications.

SourcePenn State·JournalNature Materials·DateMar 22, 2018

Nagoya-led team flips the switch on ferroelectrics

Researchers at Nagoya University have created a way to manipulate the domain structure of lead zirconate titanate films, a crucial step for future electronic and electro-mechanical devices. By controlling the switching of domains, they can potentially accelerate the development of next-generation technologies.

SourceNagoya University·JournalScientific Reports·DateAug 28, 2017

Designing new materials from 'small' data

A Northwestern University and Los Alamos National Laboratory team developed a novel workflow to design new materials with useful electronic properties. By combining machine learning and density functional theory calculations, they created design guidelines for ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity.

SourceNorthwestern University·JournalNature Communications·DateFeb 17, 2017

Cooling chips with the flip of a switch

Researchers at Penn State University have developed a unique blend of ferroelectric polymers that can hold absorbed heat even after the external field has been switched off. This allows the material to generate cooling when the field is turned on, but no subsequent heating when the field is turned off.

SourceAmerican Institute of Physics·JournalApplied Physics Letters·DateApr 5, 2016

Potential future data storage at domain boundaries

Researchers have discovered a physical phenomenon that could prove suitable for use in further data aggregation, allowing information to be stored in the tiniest of spaces. The discovery was made using advanced electron microscopes and computer simulations, and involves ferroelectric polar properties within antiferroelectric materials.

SourceForschungszentrum Juelich·JournalNature Communications·DateJan 14, 2014

Controlling magnetism with electric fields

Researchers developed a multiferroic material that reacts to both magnetic and electric fields at room temperature, fulfilling a long-held dream. The material's ferromagnetic properties were demonstrated using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, paving the way for more efficient data storage and logical switches.

SourceRuhr-University Bochum·JournalNature Materials·DateAug 23, 2011

Rare coupling of magnetic and electric properties in a single material

Scientists have found a new mechanism that couples electric and magnetic properties in a material, enabling faster and energy-efficient logic, memory, and sensing technology. This breakthrough could lead to the development of multiferroic materials, which are rare in nature but can display both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties.

SourceDOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJul 25, 2011