Neutron Researchers Discover Widely Sought Property in Magnetic Semiconductor (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Neutron Researchers Discover Widely Sought Property in Magnetic Semiconductor

Caption

Researchers working at NIST have confirmed that thin magnetic layers (red) of a semiconductor separated by a nonmagnetic layer (blue) can exhibit a coveted phenomenon known as "antiferromagnetic coupling," in which manganese (Mn) atoms in successive magnetic layers spontaneously orient their magnetization in opposite directions. This discovery, made by scattering neutrons (arrows) from the material, raises the prospects of "spintronic logic circuits" that could both store and process data.

Credit

Brian Kirby, NIST

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