Home > Press > Future computers could be built from magnetic 'tornadoes'
 |
Abstract:
Computers of the future could be built from 'magnetic tornadoes,' according to new research into nanotechnology at the University of Sheffield.
Future computers could be built from magnetic 'tornadoes'
Sheffield, UK | Posted on October 14th, 2014Magnetic materials form the basis of most hard disc drives as they are able to store data. A team from the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering have been investigating whether they could also be used to perform calculations, and so take on the role of a computer's central processing unit (CPU).
Lead researcher, Dr Tom Hayward, explains: "Magnetic materials are useful for data storage because they can retain information without consuming energy. A computer built around a CPU made of magnetic materials should be much more power efficient than existing technologies, as it should be able to function with minimal energy consumption."
Using computer simulations, the team have shown it is possible to create magnetic 'logic gates', the fundamental building blocks of a CPU, using magnetic materials. The results are published this month in Physical Review Applied.
Dr Hayward says: "In wires of magnetic material, two hundred times thinner than a human hair, magnetism can form into swirling 'tornadoes', known as magnetic vortex domain walls. In our simulations, we use vortices where the magnetism turns clockwise to represent 0 and vortices where it turns anticlockwise to represent 1, allowing us to encode binary data. The vortices are then flowed through the wires using, and interacted with, carefully defined features in the wires that recreate the function of logic gates."
The researchers now plan to build experimental prototypes of the logic gates, and to investigate whether they can be made smaller and to operate faster - critical steps in developing the concept into a usable technology.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Abigail Chard
44-113-258-9880
Copyright © University of Sheffield
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies October 3rd, 2025
Next-generation quantum communication October 3rd, 2025
"Nanoreactor" cage uses visible light for catalytic and ultra-selective cross-cycloadditions October 3rd, 2025
Chip Technology
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025
Memory Technology
Researchers tackle the memory bottleneck stalling quantum computing October 3rd, 2025
First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Nanoelectronics
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
Interdisciplinary: Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors Multiferroics could be the key to ultralow-energy computing October 6th, 2023
Key element for a scalable quantum computer: Physicists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University demonstrate electron transport on a quantum chip September 23rd, 2022
Reduced power consumption in semiconductor devices September 23rd, 2022
Announcements
Rice membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste October 3rd, 2025
Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies October 3rd, 2025
Next-generation quantum communication October 3rd, 2025
"Nanoreactor" cage uses visible light for catalytic and ultra-selective cross-cycloadditions October 3rd, 2025
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Spinel-type sulfide semiconductors to operate the next-generation LEDs and solar cells For solar-cell absorbers and green-LED source October 3rd, 2025
Rice membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste October 3rd, 2025
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||