June 2025

Scientists from TU Delft National Institute for Materials Science, University of Valencia, University of Regensburg and Harvard University have observed quantum spin currents in graphene for the first time without using magnetic fields. These currents are important for spintronics and could promote technologies like quantum computing and advanced memory devices.

Quantum physicist Talieh Ghiasi has demonstrated the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect in graphene for the first time without any external magnetic fields. The QSH effect causes electrons to move along the edges of the graphene without any disruption, with all their spins pointing in the same direction. “Spin is a quantum mechanical property of electrons, which is like a tiny magnet carried by the electrons, pointing up or down”, Ghiasi explains. “We can leverage the spin of electrons to transfer and process information in so-called spintronics devices. Such circuits hold promise for next-generation technologies, including faster and more energy-efficient electronics, quantum computing, and advanced memory devices.”

Researchers from the University of Minnesota−Twin Cities, MIT, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University and Pusan National University have discovered surprising magnetic behavior in one of the thinnest metallic oxide materials ever made. This could pave the way for the next generation of faster and smarter spintronic and quantum computing devices.

Using an advanced materials growth technique called hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, the researchers created ultra-thin layers of RuO₂, a compound typically known for its metallic but nonmagnetic behavior. By applying epitaxial strain to these atomically thin layers, they were able to induce magnetic properties in a material that is otherwise nonmagnetic.

Researchers at MIT, Università degli Studi "Gabriele d'Annunzio", Yale University, Drexel University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated a new form of magnetism that could one day be harnessed to build faster, denser, and less power-hungry spintronic memory chips.

The new magnetic state is a hybrid of two main forms of magnetism: the ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. Now, the MIT team has demonstrated a new form of magnetism, termed “p-wave magnetism.”