When light pulses from an extremely powerful laser system are fired onto material samples, the electric field of the light rips the electrons off the atomic nuclei. For fractions of a second, a plasma is created. The electrons couple with the laser light in the process, thereby almost reaching the speed of light. When flying…
Graphene Triggers Clock Rates in Terahertz Range
Graphene — an ultrathin material consisting of a single layer of interlinked carbon atoms — is considered a promising candidate for the nanoelectronics of the future. In theory, it should allow clock rates up to a thousand times faster than today’s silicon-based electronics. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Duisburg-Essen…
Holes Have Three Magnetic States
Nanometer-scale magnetic perforated grids could create new possibilities for computing. Together with international colleagues, scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have shown how a cobalt grid can be reliably programmed at room temperature. In addition they discovered that for every hole (“antidot”) three magnetic states can be configured. The results have been published in…
Random Access Memory on a Low-Energy Diet
Memory chips are among the most basic components in computers. The random access memory is where processors temporarily store their data, which is a crucial function. Researchers from Dresden and Basel have now managed to lay the foundation for a new memory chip concept. It has the potential to use considerably less energy than the…
A Mini-Antenna for the Data Processing of Tomorrow
With the rapid advance of miniaturization, data processing using electric currents faces tough challenges, some of which are insurmountable. Magnetic spin waves are a promising alternative for the transfer of information in even more compact chips. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), as part of an international research venture, have now succeeded in generating spin…