22 April 2004
Speed limit for computing
The speed of information processing will only continue to increase if memory devices respond ever more rapidly to processing data-recording signals. In a magnetic memory, a logical bit of information is stored by setting the magnetization vector of an individual domain either 'up' or 'down'. So-called precessional switching, through magnetic field pulses, promises the fastest way of switching between the two states. Tudosa et al. set out to establish the ultimate speed of precessional switching in granular recording media, in an experiment using the Stanford Linear Accelerator to create the shortest (2.3210–12 seconds) and strongest magnetic field pulses available. Indications are that ferromagnetic order collapses in these extreme conditions, making controlled switching impossible and establishing the ultimate possible switching speed below the 2.3210–12 s mark.
The ultimate speed of magnetic switching in
granular recording media
I. TUDOSA, C. STAMM, A. B. KASHUBA, F. KING, H. C.
SIEGMANN, J. ST�HR, G. JU, B. LU & D. WELLER
Nature 428, 831–833 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature02438
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Applied physics: Speed limit ahead
C. H. BACK & D. PESCIA
Are there any limits to what science and technology can achieve? When
it comes to recording data in magnetic media, the answer is yes: there
is a natural limit to the speed at which data can be encoded.
Nature 428, 808–809 (2004); doi:10.1038/428808a
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