{
  "id": 273209,
  "title": "Just 50°C decides whether an ultrathin magnetic film stays flat or falls apart",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/just-50-c-decides-whether-an-ultrathin-magnetic-film-stays-flat-or",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-07T16:40:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-50c-ultrathin-magnetic-stays-flat.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers from the University of Toyama in Japan have discovered that the thickness and temperature of initial heating play a crucial role in determining the morphology of ultrathin L10-FePd films during a two-step heating process. L10-FePd films are particularly promising for MRAM due to their low magnetic damping, which allows for energy-efficient magnetization switching. The study found that films grown at 150°C remained flat with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, making them ideal for MRAM applications. In contrast, films heated at 200°C experienced solid-state dewetting, leading to hole formation and near-perfect magnetic ordering, while films heated at 300°C became rough and island-like. This research suggests that controlling the initial heating temperature can help engineer magnetic anisotropy and nanostructures in spintronic devices, potentially leading to ultra-low-power magnetic recording materials for future HDDs and MRAM.",
  "summary": "Magnetic storage technologies, which store information in the direction of magnetization, play an essential role in modern data storage. Hard disk drives (HDDs) are widely used for long-term storage, while nonvolatile magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) is emerging as a promising alternative to flash memory.",
  "key_points": [
    "50°C temperature determines flatness of ultrathin L10-FePd films",
    "150°C heating results in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy",
    "300°C heating causes hole formation and magnetic ordering"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}