Copenhagen: Nano step to new computer storage medium

Research lead

Scientists at the Nano-Science Centre and the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have opened up the possibility of a new data storage medium in which electricity and magnetism are combined in a new transistor concept.

Researcher Jonas Hauptmann says, “We are the first to obtain direct electrical control of the smallest magnet in nature, one single electron spin.”

“In our experiments, we use carbon nanotubes as transistors. Placing the nanotubes between magnetic electrodes we have shown that the direction of a single electron spin caught on the nanotube can be controlled directly by an electric potential.” This single electron spin caught on the nanotube can be pictured as an artificial atom.

Direct electrical control over a single electron spin has been acknowledged as a theoretical possibility for several years, but in spite of numerous attempts worldwide, it is only now with this experiment that the mechanism has been demonstrated in practice.

Another of the researchers, Jens Paaske, says, “Transistors are important components in every electronic device. We work with a completely new transistor concept, in which a carbon nanotube, or a single organic molecule, takes the place of the traditional semi-conductor transistor. Our discovery shows that the new transistor can function as a magnetic memory.”