Short-wavelength speedy 'spin waves' have communication potential

The method, from researchers at New York University and reported in Nanotechnology, employs spin waves that move in magnetic materials and efficiently transfer energy and information.

’Spin waves hold tremendous promise in improving the functionality of a range of technologies,’ said Andrew Kent, a professor in NYU’s Department of Physics and one of the paper’s co-authors. ’Our results mark another vital step in harnessing a resource that is faster and more energy efficient that what we rely on today.’

Currently, electromagnetic waves in antennas can be converted into spin waves but the resulting waves have a long wavelength and propagate slowly.

In contrast, short-wavelength spin waves can move over greater distances, more quickly, and with less energy, and present the possibility of improving a range of communications and electronic devices. Creating them, however, is said to be difficult. 

To overcome this obstacle, the NYU researchers developed so-called spin torque nano-oscillators (STNO), which convert a direct current into spin waves.