Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) have developed a thin ceramic film that is thinner than a human hair. According to them, the material, which has unusual magnetic properties, could in the future make computing devices faster, more economical and capable of greater data storage capacity. The work was published in the journal Advanced Materials.
The film belongs to the class of high-entropy oxides (HEOs) - ceramic materials that combine several different elements in a single crystal lattice. The team led by Saeed Almishal of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania has been developing this line of research, begun in 2015, for more than ten years. The new material is also an HEO, but with a special internal structure.
The key idea is so-called "anomalous crystallinity": a perfectly ordered crystal contains chemical disorder. According to the authors, it is precisely this combination that makes it possible to create layered interfaces and control magnetic signals. Magnetic signals, unlike electric current, require less energy to transmit and store information. In modern devices, a combination of current and magnetism is responsible for operation and data retention, but strengthening the role of magnetism could reduce dependence on current.
Creating the film took about ten years - the authors compare the process to making paint and applying it to a wall. In collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Tennessee), the scientists measured magnetic phenomena at the interfaces and refined the method for producing the film. According to Almishal, this work and a 2025 paper in the journal Advanced Science are the first step toward combining magnonics (the branch of physics dealing with magnetic excitations) and spintronics (the field that studies electron spin and its magnetic properties).
For now, this concerns a laboratory prototype. The team plans to collaborate with industry for further development. Co-author John-Paul Maria notes the potential efficiency for large data centers: "Such materials offer a potential approach to achieving high efficiency - 10-100 times higher - in data centers." According to him, this gain is largely linked to the use of magnetism. However, this is only an assessment of potential, not a proven result.
Maria also emphasizes the value of fundamental research: early experiments with HEOs did not begin with a specific goal, but with a desire to understand the possibilities of metallurgy. "Early experiments give rise to breakthrough achievements," he says. A laboratory for quantum and magnetic measurements is being created at the university, where the properties of materials will be studied, including at different temperatures.