3D Printed Nanomagnets Reveal The World Of Patterns in A Magnetic Field

According to a study published in "Nature Nanotechnology" on the 21st, an international team led by the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom used advanced 3D printing technology to create a magnetic double helix, just like the double helix of DNA. They twist each other, combining the curvature, chirality and strong magnetic field interaction between the spirals. Scientists have thus discovered that these magnetic double helixes produce nano-scale topological textures in a magnetic field, which has never been seen before, opening the door to the development of next-generation magnetic devices.

Magnetic devices affect all aspects of society, including energy generation, data storage, and computing. But magnetic computing devices are rapidly approaching their shrinking limits in two-dimensional systems. For the next generation of computing, people are paying more and more attention to turning to three-dimensional, because not only can higher density be achieved through the 3D nanowire architecture, but also the three-dimensional geometry can change the magnetism and provide new functions.

Track memory is an immature technology. Its principle is to store digital data in the magnetic domain walls of nanowires to produce information storage devices with higher reliability, performance and capacity. But until now, this idea has been difficult to realize.

In the past few years, researchers have focused on developing new methods for visualizing three-dimensional magnetic structures and have also developed a 3D printing technology for magnetic materials. The 3D measurement is performed on the PolLux beamline of the Swiss light source, which is currently the only beamline capable of providing soft X-ray tomography. Using advanced X-ray imaging technology, the researchers observed that the 3D DNA structure causes different textures in the magnetization compared to 2D. The paired walls between the magnetic domains (regions where the magnetization all point in the same direction) in adjacent spirals are highly coupled and therefore deformed. These walls attract each other, and due to the 3D structure, they rotate, "lock" into place and form strong and regular bonds, similar to base pairs in DNA.

Claire Donnelly of the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge said: "Not only did we find that 3D structures lead to interesting topological nanotextures in magnetization, but we also discovered new nanoscale field configurations in stray magnetic fields. If we can reach the nanoscale By controlling these magnetic forces, we are closer to achieving the same degree of control as in two dimensions."

The researchers said the results are fascinating. The double helix structure similar to DNA forms strong bonds between the helices, thus deforming their shape, and the vortex formed in a magnetic field around these bonds-the topological structure is more exciting, and it will have many applications prospects.