Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Electricity Used to Switch Magnetism

By Technische Universität Wien | January 18, 2018

Electricity and magnetism

It’s not exactly a new revelation that electricity and magnetism are closely linked. And yet, magnetic and electrical effects have been studied separately for some time now within the field of materials science. Magnetic fields will usually be used to influence magnetic material properties, whilst electrical properties come down to electrical voltage. Then we have multiferroics — a special group of materials that combine the two. In a new development, Technische Universität Wien has managed to use electrical fields to control the magnetic oscillations of certain ferrous materials. This has opened up huge potential for computer technology applications, as data is currently transferred in the form of electrical signals but stored magnetically.

Within the field of solid state physics, it is often a case of working with material properties that can be influenced by either magnetic or electrical fields. As a general rule, magnetic and electrical effects can be studied separately because their causes are completely different. Magnetic effects come about because particles have an internal magnetic direction called the “spin,” whereas electrical effects result from positive and negative charges within a material that can shift position in relation to one another.

“When it comes to materials with very specific spatial symmetries, however, the two can be combined,” explains Professor Andrei Pimenov from the Institute of Solid State Physics at TU Wien. He has been conducting research into this special kind of material — “multiferroics” — for a number of years now. Multiferroics are currently considered to be a promising new area within solid state physics on a global scale. Interesting experiments have already been performed to research how magnetic and electrical effects can be linked and now Pimenov and his team of researchers have managed to use electrical fields to control the high-frequency magnetic oscillations of a material consisting of iron, boron and rare-earth metals for the first time.

“The material contains iron atoms which are threefold positively charged. They have a magnetic moment oscillating at a frequency of 300 GHz,” says Pimenov. “There is no question that these oscillations could be controlled using a magnetic field. But what we have managed to demonstrate is that these oscillations can be altered in a targeted way using an electrical field.” This means that a dynamic magnetic effect — the iron atoms’ magnetic state of oscillation — can be activated or deactivated using a static electrical field.

This development is particularly interesting for future electronics applications: “Our hard drives store data magnetically, but it is incredibly difficult to write data quickly and accurately in the same way,” says Pimenov. “It is so much easier to apply an electrical field with pinpoint precision, as all you need is a simple voltage pulse. The process is very speedy and doesn’t involve any significant loss of energy.” But now we could potentially have the option of using materials that combine magnetic and electrical effects to bring together the advantages of magnetic storage and electrical writing.

Source: Technische Universität Wien

Related Articles Read More >

Caltech, Fermilab, and collaborators test quantum sensors for future particle physics experiments
2025 R&D layoffs tracker: 83,543 and counting
NSF layoffs in 2025: Deep budget cuts headed for U.S. research sector
GMT141_01_19_Bob Hines_1037_Boeing Starliner Arrival
Newly revealed details on Boeing Starliner’s mission highlight systemic engineering challenges
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE