Researchers improve magnets for computing

As demand increases for data storage and higher-performance computers, researchers are creating a new generation of materials to meet consumer expectations.

“How can we design new materials so that they can store data with less volume, less cost and using less energy?” asked Srinivasa Singamaneni, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The answer may lie in a new type of magnet discovered by physicists at Singamaneni and UTEP. The material is described in 2D npj materials and applications.

“Many researchers are exploring quantum magnets to revolutionize the future of computing power,” Singamaneni said. “Many tools use traditional magnets – laptops, speakers, headsets, MRI scanners – and these magnets may one day be replaced by quantum magnets.”

Singamaneni, the lead author of the new study, has been working since 2021 on a class of magnets known as van der Waals magnets. The new 2D magnets, which have length and width but are only one layer thick, have huge potential in the computing world because of their small size, Singamaneni said.

However, Van der Waals magnets have so far only worked at subzero temperatures.

Alongside a team of scientists from Stanford University, the University of Edinburgh, Los Alamos National Lab, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Brookhaven National Lab, Singamaneni discovered that The addition of a low-cost organic material, known as tetrabutylammonium, between the magnet’s atomic layers allows the magnet to operate at temperatures up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Van der Waals magnets do not have practical applications at present due to their temperature constraints,” Singamaneni said. “My approach is unique because we have shown that a simple chemical treatment on a separate magnet can push the boundaries of 2D magnetism; this could be very transformative for the industry.”

The team has demonstrated the magnet’s potential in the laboratory, but plans to continue studying and refining the material for use in computing.

Other authors of the study are UTEP alumnus Hector Iturriaga, now at Stanford University; UTEP graduate student Luis M. Martinez and UTEP scientists Sreeprasad Sreenivasan, Ph.D., and Mohamed Sanad, Ph.D.; NIST scientists Thuc Mai, Ph.D., Adam Biacchi, Ph.D., and Angela Hight Walker, Ph.D.; Scientists Mathias Augustin, Ph.D., and Elton Santos, Ph.D., of the University of Edinburgh; Yu Liu, Ph.D. of Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Cedomir Petrovic, Ph.D., of Brookhaven National Lab.