[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Magnetic materials form the basis of technologies that play increasingly pivotal roles in our lives today, including sensing and hard-disk data storage. But as our innovative dreams conjure wishes for ever-smaller and faster devices, researchers are seeking new magnetic materials that are more compact, more efficient and can be controlled using precise, reliable methods.
A team led by the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has for the first time discovered magnetism in the 2-D world of monolayers, or materials that are formed by a single atomic layer. The findings, published June 8 in the journal Nature, demonstrate that magnetic properties can exist even in the 2-D realm — opening a world of potential applications.
“What we have discovered here is an isolated 2-D material with intrinsic magnetism, and the magnetism in the system is highly robust,” said Xiaodong Xu, a UW professor of physics and of materials science and engineering, and member of the UW’s Clean Energy Institute. “We envision that new information technologies may emerge based on these new 2-D magnets.”
Xu and MIT physics professor Pablo Jarillo-Herrero led the international team of scientists who proved that the material — chromium triiodide, or CrI3— has magnetic properties in its monolayer form.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_btn title=”Learn More” color=”danger” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washington.edu%2Fnews%2F2017%2F06%2F07%2Fscientists-discover-a-2-d-magnet%2F||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]