Researchers at IBM's
Almaden Research
Center in California have developed a new technique to explore and control
magnetism at the atomic level.
"We can now position atoms and then measure and control their magnetic
interactions within precisely designed structures," said IBM researcher Andreas
Heinrich.
Researchers built a chain of 10 manganese atoms and measured how the magnetic
properties changed as each new atom was added.
They found that a chain containing an odd number of atoms had magnetism, but
chains with an even number of atoms did not.
The research is considered an essential step in the development of nano-scale
microprocessors where single atoms or groups of atoms perform functions on a
chip similar to transistors and other microelectronic elements.
"We will then need alternative structures, and perhaps altogether different
ways of computing. Techniques like this can help us gain the knowledge needed to
create those alternatives," said Heinrich.
The research could also be applied to the field of
spintronics,
in which researchers are attempting to build computing devices by altering the
electron state of atoms through magnetism.
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