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Exploring and manipulating the behavior of polar vortices in materials may lead to new technology for faster data transfer and storage.
Our high-speed, high-bandwidth world constantly requires new ways to process and store information. Semiconductors and magnetic materials have made up the bulk of data storage devices for decades. In recent years, however, researchers and engineers have turned to ferroelectric materials, a type of crystal that can be manipulated with electricity.
In 2016, the study of ferroelectrics got more interesting with the discovery of polar vortices – essentially spiral-shaped grouping of atoms – within the structure of the material. Now a team of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has uncovered new insights into the behavior of these vortices, insights that may be the first step toward using them for fast, versatile data processing and storage. The team, which also includes researchers from DOE
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IMAGE: Artist s conception of polar vortices moving in ferroelectric material. These small groupings of atoms must be excited with high-frequency electric fields to move, but studying their behavior may lead to. view more
Credit: Ellen Weiss/Argonne National Laboratory
Our high-speed, high-bandwidth world constantly requires new ways to process and store information. Semiconductors and magnetic materials have made up the bulk of data storage devices for decades. In recent years, however, researchers and engineers have turned to ferroelectric materials, a type of crystal that can be manipulated with electricity.
In 2016, the study of ferroelectrics got more interesting with the discovery of polar vortices essentially spiral-shaped groupings of atoms within the structure of the material. Now a team of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has uncovered new insights into the behavior of these vortices, insights
DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne is looking at alternative supply chains for critical materials, says Cynthia Jenks, head of Argonne s circular economy initiative. Mining these materials from our nation s urban sources would enhance national security.
Credit: Argonne National Laboratory
Imagine 10 million people, each drinking a bottle of water a day and then deciding on what to do with the container. Do they throw it in the trash, toss it to the gutter or recycle it?
This isn t a far-fetched scenario. In fact, U.S. consumers purchased nearly 50 billion water bottles in 2018, or about 137 million bottles a day, according to one estimate.
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IMAGE: An illustration of physically confined spaces in a porous bilayer silica film on a metal catalyst that can be used for chemical reactions. Silicon atoms are indicated by the orange. view more
Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory
UPTON, NY Physically confined spaces can make for more efficient chemical reactions, according to recent studies led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory. They found that partially covering metal surfaces acting as catalysts, or materials that speed up reactions, with thin films of silica can impact the energies and rates of these reactions. The thin silica forms a two-dimensional (2-D) array of hexagonal-prism-shaped cages containing silicon and oxygen atoms.
Credit: Argonne National Laboratory
Six groups that included 17 scientists, engineers and other staff from the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory were recipients of the recently announced DOE 2020 Secretary of Energy s Honor Awards. The Laboratory can be very proud. The number of Argonne researchers who earned this prestigious recognition from DOE, the Secretary s Honor Awards, is more than double that of the previous year, said Argonne Director Paul Kearns. Congratulations to all the honorees and a special thanks to your research teams for their contributions to this impactful science. These achievements demonstrate the exceptional ways Argonne discoveries benefit the nation and contribute to the worldwide fight against COVID-19.