Brown University Researchers Eliminate the Dead Layer in Thin Bismuth Ferrite Films
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- ScienceDaily.com
Researchers at Brown University developed a technique to produce extremely thin films of bismuth ferrite while preserving the material’s electrical and magnetic properties. The work addresses the “dead layer” effect, which has typically caused multiferroics to lose those properties when made thin enough for conventional computer chips. Brown engineering professor Lucas Caretta, who led the work, said the material remains ferroelectric and magnetic down to a few angstroms. The findings were published in Nature Materials.
Multiferroics combine electrical polarization and magnetic behavior that can be controlled together using very small voltages. This relationship could support memory and logic components that store information electrically and retrieve it magnetically, potentially using less energy than existing technologies. The research also reports new magnetic characteristics in the thin films. These properties make the result relevant to efforts to reduce the energy demands of computing, including those associated with artificial intelligence, although the article does not report a chip deployment or measured energy savings.
Brown University’s demonstrated milestone is retaining ferroelectric and magnetic behavior in bismuth ferrite films down to a few angstroms while eliminating the dead layer. The specific process details and any next research or commercialization milestone were not disclosed in the source article. Whether the material can be incorporated into practical computer-chip components remains an unresolved point; no further timeline was disclosed at the time of publication.
Original report
A breakthrough in magnetism could make AI chips use dramatically less energy
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