Probing the magnetism of single atoms
Computers and many other electronic devices depend on the storage of huge amounts of digital data. To make these devices ever more powerful, there is a continual push to develop new ways of storing data in ever more compact forms that need less and less power to run them. The ultimate in compactness would be to have each individual bit of data stored on an individual atom, and one idea of going about this uses the magnetism of atoms.
In an important step in this direction, the technique ‘scanning tunnelling microscopy’ has been used to determine the stability of the magnetic moment of individual iron atoms on a specially prepared copper surface. The technique works by measuring how much energy it takes to make the magnetic moment point in different directions. The image is a visualisation of the spin excitations of a single iron atom derived from the experiments. To find out more, click here.
This image was created by Dr Cyrus Hirjibehedin, London Centre for Nanotechnology, ©IBM. It is one of set marking the inauguration of the Materials Simulation Laboratory, a network of the 30 and more UCL research groups engaged in the computer modelling of materials.
Your image
If you are a staff member or student who
has generated an image related to your work or study, please send a
72dpi version and caption, with your name and department, to UCL Views who will consider it for use on the UCL homepage.
