Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TECH SPACE
Speeding up data storage by a thousand times with 'spin current'
by Staff Writers
Eindhoven, Netherlands (SPX) Jul 11, 2014


This is an artist's impression of a laser pulse changing a magnetic bit. Image courtesy Eindhoven University of Technology.

A hard drive stores bits in the form of tiny magnetic domains. The directions of the magnetic north and south poles of these domains, which are referred to as the magnetization, determine whether they are a 0 or a 1.

Data is stored by changing the direction of the magnetization of the associated bits. At present this is done using a write head to create a local magnetic field, which makes a bit change direction.

Limit reached
The stronger the local magnetic field, the faster the switch takes place. But this is subject to a limit which has now almost been reached. "The number of bits has been growing rapidly for many years, but the write speed has hardly increased. There's a need for a new data storage technology", says TU/e researcher Sjors Schellekens.

He is the lead author of a publication in Nature Communications, in which together with colleagues he presents a new technology.

Magnetic stream
The physicists, led by TU/e professor prof.dr. Bert Koopmans, use a special property of electrons, the spin - a kind of internal compass in the electron. Using ultra-fast laser pulses they generate a flow of electrons in a material which all have the same spin.

The resulting 'spin current' changes the magnetic properties of the material (see the figure for an explanation of the technology).

A thousand times faster
"The change in the magnetization is of the order of 100 femtoseconds, which is a factor 1,000 faster than what is possible with today's technology", says Schellekens. As well as that, the researchers were able to describe the physical processes that are involved in detail.

"There was discussion among physicists about whether the generated spin current is actually able to cause the change in magnetization. We now definitely show that this is really the case", says Schellekens.

Optical computer chips
In addition, the method is a step towards future optical computer chips, which TU/e is now working on. In December the university received a Dutch grant of almost 20 million euros to integrate photonics in computer systems.

"Our technology allows optical data to be stored in the form of magnetic bits. That offers unprecedented opportunities if you want to use light as information carrier", says Schellekens.

.


Related Links
Eindhoven University of Technology
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





TECH SPACE
Ghost writing the whip
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 30, 2014
"Ghost imaging" sounds like the spooky stuff of frivolous fiction, but it's an established technique for reconstructing hi-res images of objects partly obscured by clouds or smoke. Now a group of researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is applying ghost imaging to secure stored or shared electronic data. Described in the journal Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishin ... read more


TECH SPACE
NASA LRO's Moon As Art Collection Is Revealed

Solar photons drive water off the moon

55-year old dark side of the moon mystery solved

New evidence supporting moon formation via collision of 2 planets

TECH SPACE
First LDSD Test Flight a Success

Rover Has Enough Energy for Some Late-Night Work

Curiosity travels through ancient glaciers on Mars

New Type of Dust in Martian Atmosphere Discovered

TECH SPACE
Taiwan's tourism revenue hits record high in 2013

Fruit fly immunity fails with fungus after (space)flight

From Deep Sea to Deep Space

Commercial Crew Partners Focus on Testing, Analysis to Advance Designs

TECH SPACE
Chinese moon rover designer shooting for Mars

Yutu designer's bittersweet

Are China's Astronauts Moonbound

Chinese scientists prepare for lunar base life support system

TECH SPACE
NASA Television Coverage Set for Orbital-2 Mission to Space Station

Spot the Space Station looking at you

Closing the recycling circle

Space station astronauts wager friendly bet on USA vs. Germany match

TECH SPACE
Eco-Friendly 'Angara' Rocket Installed On Plesetsk Launch Pad

Singapore launches its first nano-satellite

NASA's sounding rocket crashes into Atlantic

NASA aborts launch of OCO-2

TECH SPACE
Discovery expands search for Earth-like planets

Astronomers discover most Earth-like of all exoplanets

Mega-Earth in Draco Smashes Notions of Planetary Formation

Kepler space telescope ready to start new hunt for exoplanets

TECH SPACE
Even geckos can lose their grip

Platonic solids generate their four-dimensional analogues

Consider the 'Anticrystal'

Inspired by Nature, Researchers Create Tougher Metal Materials




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.