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Magnetomechanical Four‐State Memory
Author(s) -
Watson Chad S.,
Hollar Courtney,
Anderson Kimball,
Knowlton William B.,
Müllner Peter
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201203015
Subject(s) - materials science , magnetic storage , nanoindentation , computer data storage , demagnetizing field , indentation , magnetic field , shape memory alloy , magnetic force microscope , ferromagnetism , magnetic shape memory alloy , nanotechnology , magnetic domain , magnetic memory , condensed matter physics , nuclear magnetic resonance , optoelectronics , computer science , magnetization , composite material , computer hardware , physics , layer (electronics) , quantum mechanics , operating system
With current non‐volatile memory technology approaching intrinsic storage density limits, new data storage technologies are under development. Probe‐based storage systems provide alternatives to conventional mass storage technologies. Ni‐Mn‐Ga, a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy (FSMA), is proposed as a medium for multi‐bit storage using scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques. Local modifications of the magnetic stray field were achieved using nanoindentation. Magnetic poles collect within the indentation, which is leveraged to control the magnetic stray field for the patterning of magnetic information. Four magnetic‐based memory states are possible due to magnetic field or stress‐induced twin rearrangement along two crystal orientations, each with two possible magnetic orientations.