*Magnetic sheets just a few nanometers thick could lead to new types of memory and storage devices.*
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a way to make magnetic sheets just a few nanometers thick. This is a significant breakthrough, as previous attempts to create such thin magnetic sheets have been unsuccessful.
The researchers' approach involves using a special type of graphene, called "ferromagnetic graphene." This material is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms, and it has the unique property of being both magnetic and conductive.
The researchers grew ferromagnetic graphene on a substrate of silicon carbide, and then used a laser to etch the graphene into thin strips. The strips were then suspended in a liquid, and the researchers used a magnetic field to align them.
The resulting magnetic sheets are just a few nanometers thick, and they have a very high magnetic moment. This means that they can store a lot of magnetic information, and they could potentially be used to create new types of memory and storage devices.
The researchers are currently working on ways to improve the quality of the magnetic sheets, and they hope to eventually be able to use them to create practical devices.
This research is a major step forward in the field of nanomagnetism. It opens up the possibility of creating new types of electronic devices that are smaller, faster, and more powerful than anything currently available.