SANDWICH CLUSTERS MAY IMPROVE MAGNETIC MEMORY STORAGE

Main Menu | News By Date | News By Supplier | News By Category | About Us

SANDWICH CLUSTERS MAY IMPROVE MAGNETIC MEMORY STORAGE
06 March 2007 - DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

A new type of molecular magnet known as a “sandwich cluster” is being studied under a joint research collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago and Keio University in Japan.

These molecular magnets could be useful for magnetic storage or spintronics, developing technologies that could enable computers to have ultra-small storage capabilities with faster and more energy-efficient systems.

The three collaborating institutions have been funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency to explore the magnetic properties of these newly found molecules.

Argonne has received $93,800 this year to focus on the magnetic properties of these clusters and to work on developing techniques to deposit the clusters onto surfaces.

Argonne is an excellent place to study these clusters, as it houses the rare Stern-Gerlach molecular beam deflection apparatus. Only three of these devices exist in the world, and Argonne is home to the only one at a U.S. national laboratory.

The Stern-Gerlach apparatus contains a special magnet that generates small deflections in a molecular beam of metal clusters that travel inside a high vacuum chamber.

“We can determine how interesting these magnetic clusters are with the molecular beam deflection apparatus,” says Argonne chemist Mark Knickelbein. “From the magnitude of the deflections, we can determine the ‘magnetic moments' of the clusters, the most fundamental measure of their magnetism.”

A “sandwich cluster” is a molecule consisting of alternating layers of metal atoms and organic molecules, such as vanadium and benzene. These clusters can be several nanometers (billionths of a meter) in length, depending on the number of layers in the cluster, which in turn depends on the types of metal atoms and organic molecules used and the temperature of the atoms and molecules at creation. The clusters display different magnetic behaviors than regular bulk metals.

Argonne has already made several advances in sandwich-cluster research. For example, researchers have discovered how to generate clusters larger than ever observed before by reacting laser-generated metal atoms with benzene and other molecules at low temperatures.

The other lead researchers on the project, in addition to Argonne's Knickelbein, are professor Steve Sibener of the University of Chicago and professor Atsushi Nakajima of Keio University.

http://www.anl.gov

About: DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is one of the US Department of Energy's largest research centres. It is also the nation's first national laboratory, chartered in 1946.

Argonne is a direct descendant of the University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory, part of the World War Two Manhattan Project. After the war, Argonne was given the mission of developing nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes. Over the years, Argonne's research expanded to include many other areas of science, engineering and technology.

Today, the laboratory has about 4000 employees, including about 1200 scientists and engineers, of whom about 700 hold doctorate degrees.

Argonne occupies two sites. The Illinois site is surrounded by forest preserve about 25 miles southwest of Chicago's Loop. About 3200 of Argonne's 4000 employees work on the site's 1500 wooded acres. The site also houses the US Department of Energy's Chicago Operations Office.

Argonne-West occupies about 900 acres about 50 miles west of Idaho Falls in the Snake River Valley. It is the home of most of Argonne's major nuclear reactor research facilities. About 800 of Argonne's employees work there.

More News:
  • For March 2007
  • From DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
  • For National Laboratory