January 2025

Researchers at the University of Utah and the University of California, Irvine (UCI), have set out to better understand a property known as spin-torque, that is crucial for the electrical manipulation of magnetization that’s required for the next generations of storage and processing technologies. 

The spintronic prototype device that exploits the anomalous Hall torque effect. Image from: University of Utah

The scientists have discovered a new type of spin–orbit torque, in a recent study that demonstrated a new way to manipulate spin and magnetization through electrical currents, a phenomenon that they’ve dubbed the anomalous Hall torque.

A University of Tokyo research team has shown that the direction of a spin-polarized current can be restricted to only one direction in a single-atom layer of a thallium-lead alloys when irradiated at room temperature. 

This discovery defies conventions as single-atom layers have been thought to be almost completely transparent, in other words, negligibly absorbing or interacting with light. The one-directional flow of the current observed in this study could enable functionality beyond ordinary diodes, paving the way for more environmentally friendly data storage and ultra-fine two-dimensional spintronic devices. 

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), working with teams from University of California, Kyoto University and others, have reported a breakthrough in the development of next-generation graphene-based quantum materials, opening new horizons for advancements in quantum electronics.

The innovation involves a novel type of graphene nanoribbon (GNR) named Janus GNR (JGNR). The material has a unique zigzag edge, with a special ferromagnetic edge state located on one of the edges. This unique design enables the realization of one-dimensional ferromagnetic spin chain, which could have important applications in quantum electronics and quantum computing.

Researchers at the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) recently proposed a method to create ferroelectric-ferromagnetic materials, opening doors to advancing spintronics and memory devices.

In 1831, Michael Faraday discovered the fundamental connection between electricity and magnetism, demonstrating that a changing magnetic field induces electric current in a conductor. In a recent study, MANA researchers proposed a method for designing ferroelectric-ferromagnetic (FE-FM) materials, which exhibit both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties, enabling the manipulation of magnetic properties using electric fields and vice versa. Such materials are highly promising for spintronics and memory devices. The advantage of FE-FM materials, extremely rare in nature, is their ability to achieve the cross-control by relatively low electric and magnetic fields. The study, led by Principal Researcher Igor Solovyev from MANA, NIMS, included contributions from Dr. Ryota Ono from MANA, NIMS, and Dr. Sergey Nikolaev from the University of Osaka, Japan.