As artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and online services continue to grow, the demand for faster and more energy-efficient computer hardware is rising rapidly.
Now, researchers in Japan have developed a new type of magnetic memory that can be rewritten using a single pulse of laser light instead of electric current, potentially paving the way for faster and more sustainable computing systems.
The breakthrough was achieved by a team led by the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) and was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Today’s computers and data centers rely heavily on memory technologies that use electric currents to store and update information.
While these systems are effective, they have a major drawback: electric currents generate heat.
As computing demands increase, especially with the rise of AI, the energy required to power and cool these systems continues to grow.
The researchers wanted to find a better solution.
Their new approach uses light rather than electricity to change the magnetic state of a memory material. Magnetic memory stores information by changing the direction of magnetization inside a material. A magnetic state pointing one way can represent a digital “0,” while the opposite direction can represent a “1.”
Instead of using electrical currents to flip these magnetic states, the new material uses an ultrashort laser pulse.
According to the researchers, light can switch magnetic states around 1,000 times faster than conventional current-based methods. Because the process avoids large electrical currents, it also produces less heat and wastes less energy.
This could make future memory devices both faster and more efficient.
Scientists have studied light-driven magnetic switching before, but previous materials were not well suited for practical memory applications. Although they could be switched by light, they lacked the strong magnetic properties needed for reliable data storage and reading.
To overcome this limitation, the team designed a new material based partly on CoFeB, an alloy already widely used in commercial magnetic memory technologies.
The researchers combined layers of cobalt, gadolinium, and CoFeB with atomic-level precision to create what is known as an artificial ferrimagnet. By carefully controlling the thickness and arrangement of these layers, they produced a material whose magnetic state could be reliably reversed by a single femtosecond laser pulse—a pulse lasting just one quadrillionth of a second.
The team also demonstrated that the process could be repeated many times, successfully writing and rewriting information without losing stability.
To understand exactly how the material worked, the scientists used Japan’s advanced NanoTerasu synchrotron facility. Powerful X-ray techniques allowed them to examine the magnetic structure of the material at the atomic level and optimize its design.
The potential benefits extend far beyond the laboratory. Faster and lower-power memory could help reduce the enormous electricity consumption of data centers that support AI systems, cloud computing platforms, and digital services worldwide.
Researchers also believe the technology could eventually help bridge the gap between optical and electronic technologies. Future computer chips may combine light-based communication with electronic processing on a single platform, leading to faster and more efficient devices.
While practical applications are still several years away, the study suggests that memory powered by flashes of light rather than electric currents could become an important part of the next generation of computing technology.
