German researchers demo solution for spintronics, storage

A team of researchers from the Paul Drude Institute in Berlin, Germany, and Xiamen University in China, has recently published a paper about a potential solution to a long-standing challenge in developing magnetic materials. They demonstrated how ferrimagnetic NiCo2O4 (NCO) could offer a robust out-of-plane magnetism, with a range of magnetic and electrical characteristics that could be tailored to suit different requirements.

The team explained that developing magnetic materials with a robust perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is essential, as high-density memory superlattice structures rely on thin individual layers to realize PMA. The findings suggest that having materials with robust PMA in relatively thick films is a more cost-effective and practical method of device fabrication. NiCo2O4 showed these capabilities and offered flexibility in terms of tunability, making it an ideal candidate for a range of potential spintronic applications to enhance high-density memories beyond currently used antiferromagnetic materials.

The insights gained into magnetotransport phenomena and tunable magnetic properties offer much potential for future research, leading to the design of novel spintronic applications and advancements in the industrial development of high-density memories. The findings of Hua Lv, Xiao Chun Huang, Kelvin H. L. Zhang, Oliver Bierwagen, and Manfred Ramsteiner have broad, highly relevant implications for scientific research, and industrial, and societal applications. It is hoped that more research will be conducted to build on what has already been discovered.