A UCLA research team has unveiled a new method to combine magnetic elements with semiconductors, overcoming an obstacle of several decades in the field of materials science and opening the way to a new class of electronic devices.
This breakthrough constitutes a fundamental step for the spintronic, a technology whose operation is based on the spin of an electron rather than on its load. Unlike conventional electronics, spintronic components do not produce excess heat which currently limits the compactness of chips.
This new development could lead to future devices, from smartphones to computers, more powerful, more compact and more energy efficient. The new technique consists in alternately stacking atomically fine leaves of semiconductors and magnetic atoms, which makes it possible to obtain a magnetic concentration of up to 50 %, or a leap forward compared to the previous limit of 5 %.
This new class of materials could also help to resolve one of the largest challenges in the modern era: massive consumption of energy and water in artificial intelligence systems. Future computers using spintronic should be able to accommodate more powerful artificial intelligence applications without having to endure the carbon footprint and the puncture on vital resources.
In addition, research could provide basic materials for future quantum computers. New magnetic materials could contribute to raising the operating temperatures of quantum computers from the freezing conditions required today at more practical levels. The UCLA team has already created more than 20 new materials thanks to this new process, and a patent application has been filed for this technology.
If this technology is applied to general public devices, a new generation of laptops and ultra-rapid smartphones will be created. In the meantime, very efficient phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (currently $ 1,105 on Amazon) meet current needs.
