Updated 24 September 2020

Kits and Gadgets Electronics Inc.
Farwaniya, Kuwait 80003
Kuwait

ph: +965 99571844

kits@kits-gadgets.com

  • Electronic Kits
  • Parts on Sale
  • Parts in StockClick to open the Parts in Stock menu
    • Resistor
    • Potentiometer
    • Capacitor
    • Trimmer Capacitor
    • Transistor
    • Crystal
    • Diode
    • LED
    • Diac
    • Thyristor
    • IC Socket
    • IC - Logic
    • IC - Linear
    • IC - Op-Amp
    • IC - VLSI
    • Relay
    • Motor
    • Lamp
    • Transducer
    • Gear
    • Switch
    • Heatsink
    • Parts Store Inventory
  • Brand New Items
  • Used Items
  • Power Supply
  • Raspberry Pi VaultClick to open the Raspberry Pi Vault menu
    • Demonstration Kit
    • Demonstration Kit - R3
    • The P1 Header Guide
    • BBC BASIC Tutorials
    • Activating the GPIO
    • LED Program
    • Motor Program
    • Solenoid Program
    • Stepper Motor
    • 8 Relay Program
    • GPIO as Input
    • Motors and Sensors Connection Diagram
    • Autonomous Program
    • Infrared Sensor
    • Ultrasonic Sensor
    • Camera Controller
    • PWM Program
    • Robotic Arm
    • STRYDER Robot
    • Demo Kit Program
  • Arduino VaultClick to open the Arduino Vault menu
    • Stepper Motor w/ LED
    • DCMotor
  • NodeMCU ProjectsClick to open the NodeMCU Projects menu
    • Running 8 LEDs
    • 8 LEDs and ULN2803
    • 8 LED Active Modes
    • ON-OFF Switch
    • Switch, Relay and LEDs
    • Motor Drive Interface
    • Connecting to Wi-Fi
    • IR Sensor
  • More GPIOsClick to open the More GPIOs menu
    • Accessing the P5 GPIOs
  • Prototypes
  • Computer Parts
  • Picture GalleryClick to open the Picture Gallery menu
    • Other Prototypes
    • Revived HP Laptop
    • Dismantled Helicopter
    • Dismantled Phone
    • ACER Laptop Repair
    • Revived Laptop
    • Inside of Electric Drill
    • Video Cam Automation
    • My Tours and Travels
  • My Original DesignClick to open the My Original Design menu
    • Handycam Automation
    • Autonomous Robot
  • What's New!Click to open the What's New! menu
    • Article-1
    • Article-2
    • Article-3
    • Article-4
    • Article-5
    • Article-6
    • Article-7
    • Article-8
    • Article-9
    • Article-10
    • Article-11
    • Article-12
    • Article-13
    • Article-14
    • Article-15
    • Article-16
    • Article-17
    • Article-18
    • Article-19
    • Article-20
    • Article-21
    • Article-22
    • Article-23
    • Article-24
    • Article-25
    • Article-26
    • Article-27
    • Article-28
    • Article-29
    • Article-30
    • Article-31
  • Forum
  • Video GalleryClick to open the Video Gallery menu
    • IR Proximity Sensor
    • Robot Vacuum Cleaner
    • Robotic Arm - RPi
    • Raspberry Pi Demo Kit
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Article-11

  • Neutron Researchers Discover Widely Sought Property In Magnetic Semiconductor

    December 1, 2008

    Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated for the first time the existence of a key magnetic—as opposed to electronic—property of specially built semiconductor devices. This discovery raises hopes for even smaller and faster gadgets that could result from magnetic data storage in a semiconductor material, which could then quickly process the data through built-in logic circuits controlled by electric fields.

    Magnetic data storage is currently utilized with great success in consumer products such as computer hard drives and MP3 players. But these storage devices are based on metallic materials. These conventional hard drives can only hold data; they have to send the data to a semiconductor-based device to process the data, slowing down performance.

    In a new paper,* researchers from NIST, Korea University and the University of Notre Dame have confirmed theorists' hopes that thin magnetic layers of semiconductor material could exhibit a prized property known as antiferromagnetic coupling—in which one layer spontaneously aligns its magnetic pole in the opposite direction as the next magnetic layer. The discovery of antiferromagnetic coupling in metals was the basis of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics, but it is only recently that it has become conceivable for semiconductor materials. Semiconductors with magnetic properties would not only be able to process data, but also store it.

    The most widely studied magnetic semiconductor is gallium arsenide (GaAs) with magnetic atoms (manganese) taking the place of some of the gallium atoms. Theorists had predicted that by creating thin films of this material separated by a nonmagnetic material of just the right thickness and electrical properties, one could engineer antiferromagnetic (AF) coupling. With magnetic fields, one could then switch the magnetization of one of the layers back and forth to create "spintronic" logic circuits, ones that operate not only under the usual control of electric fields but also the influence of magnetic fields (manipulating a property known as spin, which could be imagined as tiny internal bar magnets in particles such as electrons).

    The team, working at the NISTCenter for Neutron Research, studied these multilayer stacks using a technique known as polarized neutron reflectometry. In this technique, a beam of neutrons is bounced off the stacks. Since neutrons are magnetic, and are able to easily penetrate through the entire stack, the reflected neutrons provide information about the magnetic properties of the individual layers. At low temperatures and small magnetic fields, the polarized neutron data unambiguously confirm the existence of an antiparallel magnetic alignment of neighboring layers. When the magnetic field was increased, the neutron data indicated a parallel alignment of all layers. These results demonstrate that AF coupling is achievable in GaMnAs-based multilayers, a seminal property that now opens up a multitude of device possibilities for this novel material. While the phenomenon only occurs at very cold temperatures in the material (about 30 K), the researchers believe these results will help inform theorists who could then better understand how to create room-temperature devices with the same magnetic properties.

    SOURCE: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

     


Copyright 2013 Kits and Gadgets Electronics Inc. All rights reserved.

Web Hosting by Yahoo

Kits and Gadgets Electronics Inc.
Farwaniya, Kuwait 80003
Kuwait

ph: +965 99571844

kits@kits-gadgets.com