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, 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.
“The generation of orbital currents traditionally necessitates the injection of charge current into specific transition metals, and many of these elements are now classified as critical materials,” said Dali Sun, physicist at North Carolina State University and co-author of the study. “There are other ways to generate orbital angular momentum, but this method allows for the use of cheaper, more abundant materials.”
“We don’t need a magnet. We don’t need a battery. We don’t need to use voltage. We just need a material with chiral phonons,” added Valy Vardeny, distinguished professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Utah and co-author of the study. “Before, it was unimaginable. Now, we’ve invented a new field, so to speak.”
To read more, click here.