Scientists switch on a strange new form of magnetism in an ultrathin material
Scientists have found a surprising way to potentially switch on an unusual form of magnetism in ruthenium dioxide, a material that normally appears nonmagnetic. When the material was made into an ultrathin film only a few atomic layers thick and placed under strain, its electrons developed patterns consistent with altermagnetism, a recently proposed magnetic state with promising uses in advanced…
Scientists have discovered that a quantum material called ruthenium dioxide, previously thought to be nonmagnetic, may exhibit a novel form of magnetism known as altermagnetism when prepared as an ultrathin film. This finding, reported in Science Advances, could potentially lead to advancements in computer memory technology. Rice University physicist Ming Yi and his colleagues from the University of Minnesota and the Paul Scherrer Institute conducted experiments using a technique called spin-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the spin texture of the ultrathin ruthenium dioxide.
The researchers found that under specific conditions, such as lattice strain experienced by the electron structure of the material, the electron spins displayed patterns consistent with altermagnetism. This strain-dependent behavior suggests that lattice strain could be used to control and manipulate the magnetic properties of quantum materials, which could be valuable for future spintronics and computer memory applications.
The study highlights the complexity of identifying and describing the behavior of quantum materials, as bulk ruthenium dioxide had previously been found to be nonmagnetic, while the new research shows that altering its dimensions and applying strain can lead to different magnetic properties.
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