In 2023, EPFL researchers succeeded in sending and storing data using charge-free magnetic waves called spin waves, rather than traditional electron flows. The team from the Lab of Nanoscale Magnetic Materials and Magnonics, led by Dirk Grundler, used radiofrequency signals to excite spin waves enough to reverse the magnetization state of tiny nanomagnets. When switched from 0 to 1, for example, this allows the nanomagnets to store digital information; a process used in computer memory, and more broadly in information and communication technologies. This work was a big step toward sustainable computing, because encoding data via spin waves (whose quasiparticles are called magnons) could eliminate the energy loss, or Joule heating, associated with electron-based devices. But at the time, the spin wave signals could not be used to reset the magnetic bits to overwrite existing data.

Now, Grundler's lab at EPFL, in collaboration with colleagues from Beihang University, ETH Zurich, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Chinese Academy of Sciences and China's International Quantum Academy, have published a study that could make such repeated encoding possible. Specifically, they report unprecedented magnetic behavior in hematite: an iron oxide compound that is earth-abundant and much more environmentally friendly than materials currently used in spintronics.

Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and South China Normal University have proposed a hybrid transfer and epitaxy strategy, enabling the heterogeneous integration of single-crystal oxide spin Hall materials on silicon substrates for high-performance oxide-based spintronic devices.

Heterogeneous integration of single-crystal SrRuO₃ films on silicon for spin-orbit torque devices with low-power consumption. Credit: NIMTE

Single-crystal oxide spin Hall materials are known for their exceptional charge-spin conversion efficiency, making them promising candidates for low-power spintronic devices, particularly spin-orbit torque (SOT) devices. However, integrating these materials with silicon substrates poses significant challenges. To address these challenges, the researchers developed a method that combines transfer technology with epitaxial deposition, successfully integrating oxide spin Hall materials onto silicon substrates. Using this approach, they were able to create single-crystal SrRuO₃ (SRO) films on silicon substrates and prepare corresponding SOT devices.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Japan's Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society have reported a rare form of one-dimensional quantum magnetism in a metallic compound called Ti₄MnBi₂.

Unlike previous materials that were insulators, this system is metallic and shows strong interaction between magnetism and conduction, hinting at entirely new possibilities in quantum computing and spintronics. The experimental confirmation — supported by neutron scattering and advanced simulations — opens the door to new classes of materials that could redefine how we understand magnetism and electronic behavior at the quantum level.

Diamonds with certain optically active defects can be used as highly sensitive sensors or qubits for quantum computers, where the quantum information is stored in the electron spin state of these colour centres. However, the spin states have to be read out optically, which is often experimentally complex. 

Now, reseatchers at HZB have developed a novel method using a photo voltage to detect the individual and local spin states of these defects. This could lead to a much more compact design of quantum sensors.

TDK Corporation has announced that it has developed the world's first "Spin Photo Detector," a photo-spintronic conversion element combining optical, electronic, and magnetic elements that can respond at an ultra-high speed of 20 picoseconds (20 × 10⁻¹² s) using light with a wavelength of 800 nm ^[1] – more than 10X faster than conventional semiconductor-based photo detectors. 

This new device is expected to be a key driver for implementing photoelectric conversion technology that boosts data transmission and data processing speed, particularly in AI applications, while simultaneously reducing power consumption.

In a recent study, researchers have discovered antiferromagnetism in a real Quasicrystal (QC). The team was led by Ryuji Tamura from the Department of Materials Science and Technology at Tokyo University of Science (TUS), along with Takaki Abe, also from TUS, Taku J. Sato from Tohoku University, and Max Avdeev from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization and The University of Sydney.

Quasicrystals are solid materials that exhibit an intriguing atomic arrangement. Unlike regular crystals, in which atomic arrangements have an ordered repeating pattern, QCs display long-range atomic order that is not periodic. Due to this 'quasiperiodic' nature, QCs have unconventional symmetries that are absent in conventional crystals. Since their Nobel Prize-winning discovery, condensed matter physics researchers have dedicated immense attention toward QCs, attempting to both realize their unique quasiperiodic magnetic order and their possible applications in spintronics and magnetic refrigeration.

Flexible spintronics is a fascinating pathway towards applications in wearable devices and sheet-type sensors. For miniaturized strain sensors exploiting spintronics, the magnetoelasticity linking magnetism and lattice distortion is a vital property. This requires not only materials with significant magnetoresistance effects but also control over their magnetoelastic properties.

A schematic image of the crystal structure of Fe₄N. The iron nitride system was found to show both large magnetoresistance effects and tunable magnetoelastic properties. Image from: Communications Materials 

Now, researchers from Tohoku University, National Institute for Materials Science, Kyushu University and Kyoto Institute of Technology have systematically studied the magnetoelastic properties of Fe₄N and its substituted variants, Fe_4-xMn_xN and Fe_4-yCo_yN. These materials, composed of widely available elements, were examined for their potential in flexible spintronics. 

Researchers from Zhejiang University, Singapore University of Technology and Design  (SUTD), Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently introduced a novel method to control electron spin using only an electric field. This could pave the way for the future development of ultra-compact, energy-efficient spintronic devices.

This work demonstrates how an emerging type of magnetic material, an altermagnetic bilayer, can host a novel mechanism called layer-spin locking, thus enabling all-electrical manipulation of spin currents at room temperature.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new computational approach to accurately model and predict complex spin structures called helimagnetic spin structures, using quantum mechanics calculations. 

“The helical spin structures in two-dimensional layered materials have been experimentally observed for over 40 years. It has been a longstanding challenge to predict them with precision,” said Kesong Yang, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and senior author of the study. “The helical period in the layered compound extends up to 48 nanometers, making it extremely difficult to accurately calculate all the electron and spin interactions at this scale.”

The University of California, Riverside, according to reports, has been awarded nearly $4 million through the UC National Laboratory Fees Research Program to lead a major research initiative in antiferromagnetic spintronics. Over the next three years, the project will explore how antiferromagnetic materials can be used to push the boundaries of modern microelectronics.

“The semiconductor microelectronics industry is looking for new materials, new phenomena, and new mechanisms to sustain technological advances,” said Jing Shi, a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at UCR and the award’s principal investigator. “With co-principal investigators at UC San Diego, UC Davis, UCLA, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we aim to cement the University of California’s leadership in this area and obtain extramural center and group funding in the near future.”