Nitrogen magneto-ionics for lower power consumption

Magneto-ionics, or the voltage-controlled transport of atoms in and out of a magnetic material to alter the material’s properties, is a relatively new discipline. Irig researches are part of an international team* that recently made an important breakthrough. Rather than displacing oxygen atoms, which are widely used in magnetic layers, the researchers utilized nitrogen, which activated or deactivated the material’s magnetism with just half the voltage. Plus, the process is reproducible and faster than with oxygen ions. The potential energy savings could be significant.

Irig completed the simulations, which turned out to be consistent with the results observed in the lab. The research was published in Nature Communications.

Contact: mair.chshiev@cea.fr

*Barcelona and Georgetown Universities, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf in Dresden, National Microelectronics Centres CSIC in Madrid and Barcelona, the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

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