Scientists from ETH Zurich and PSI have found evidence that
the magnetic properties of particular materials can be modified extremely
quickly. This offers a glimmer of hope that it will be possible to produce
ultra-fast computer hard drives from such materials in the future.
In most materials, magnetic order, can be redirected only by
applying an external magnetic field. In the case of a special class of
materials, however – multiferroics – there is a second option: their magnetic
properties can be changed by an applied voltage. Multiferroics are currently
the subject of intense research in physics, an interest which stems from
possible future uses in computer storage media. In today’s devices
data is currently written onto a computer’s hard drive using a mechanical
magnetic head, but in the future multiferroic hard drives could be inscribed
electrically at a much faster rate.