To keep up with today’s computing needs, researchers mine the quantum realm to find better ways to handle massive data demands. A new field known as “orbitronics” is the newest of these efforts. Orbitronics uses the path of an electron around a nucleus, a property known as orbital angular momentum, to store and process more information, much more efficiently. Typically, controlling an electron’s orbit requires using magnetic materials, like iron, that are heavy, expensive and burdensome for practical orbitronics devices.
In a new study (Nature Physics, "Orbital Seebeck effect induced by chiral phonons"), researchers developed the most streamlined system yet for generating orbital angular momentum in electrons. Their secret—a discovery in one of the hottest research topics in modern physics, a phenomenon known as chiral phonons.
For the first time ever, the authors showed that chiral phonons can transfer orbital angular momentum to electrons directly to electrons in a non-magnetic material.
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