A breakthrough in detecting and controlling electrons’ spin paves the way for highly advanced technology. (Image: Margaret Crable via Google Gemini.)
A quantum “holy grail”? Tiny device controls electron spins for future tech
Physicists with USC Dornsife and other institutions discover a better way to detect and tune antiferromagnetic resonance, paving the way for ultrafast, low-power electronics.
Physicists with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Cornell University and collaborating institutions have created a microscopic device that can both detect and control the rapid “dance” of electron spins in antiferromagnetic materials — a leap that could enable a new generation of ultrafast, energy-efficient electronics.
The work was published this month in Science.
- Antiferromagnetic materials are solids in which electrons spin in opposite directions, canceling each other’s spin. This zero-magnetism makes them fast, stable and immune to outside magnetic interference.
- Until now, scientists could only detect this quantum behavior using bulky lab equipment — making it hard to imagine practical uses in everyday tech.