Quasiparticle discovery could pave the way for better digital storage

German scientists from Jülich, Kiel and Hamburg have found a new magnetic order that could potentially lead to a new generation of smaller data storage units in the future.

Physicists from the Jülich research center and the universities of Kiel and Hamburg have found a regular lattice of stable magnetic skyrmions – radial spiral structures, which are made up of atomic-scale spins.

These magnetic patterns have been found in large bulk materials before, but never on a nano-sized surface. The team of scientists, which published their findings Sunday in the journal Nature Physics, have theorized that these magnetic structures could lead to smaller and more efficient data storage units.

Quasiparticle discovery could pave the way for better digital storage | Science & Technology | Deutsche Welle | 01.08.2011