What scientific discoveries await the humanity in the future? Today’s fundamental researches are targeted at improvement of information technologies, systems for processing and storing information, as well as at creation of a quantum computer which in many aspects will change the world and people’s lives.
Presently, scientists of South Ural State University are working in this area. In 2018, an article was published in Optics Letters journal, indexed in Scopus and Web of Science databases. The authors of the article are research fellows of the SUSU Laboratory of Functional Materials, Igor Bychkov and Dmitry Kuzmin.
“Our work demonstrates that using the Faraday effect might lead to a sufficiently big value of magnetic field. It is important to notice that creating an electromagnetic field localized in nano scales is a quite serious problem. Our method allows achieving this: to create a big-enough magnetic field which would be localized in a small-enough volume. These magnetic fields in nano scales can be used for various purposes. The most obvious one is magnetic memory for information storage systems,” says Igor Bychkov.
The article considers propagation of electromagnetic waves in a nanostructure which includes a metal substrate, dielectric material and graphene. All elements of micro- and nano electronics are obtained by application of some material (as a rule, metal) on the substrate. It was graphene precisely that the scientists have chosen for the work as its properties are comparatively easy to control: it can change from a practically non-conducting material to a good conductor. This allows obtaining additional functionality of nanostructure.
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Layout of the nanostructure and distribution of the magnetic field under various physical parameters of graphene
The light itself can create a magnetic field as it is not used in the form of a wave but is in a localized state near the nanostructure’s boundaries. This precise phenomenon allows creating a magnetic field which would get concentrated inside of them. The magnetic field created with the use of light, in turn, has an effect on optical properties of nanostructures. Controlling physical properties of the nanostructure with the use of light allows creating devices for transmission and processing of information.
“The research can be applicable for improvement of magnetic memory. In order to increase its volume, magnetic memory cells should be placed more closely. In order to record information, it is necessary to create such magnetic field that would not impact the entire structure, only the specific elements. This means that it should be localized in a small scale,” says Dmitry Kuzmin.
Results of the research will find application in such spheres as nanophotonics, electronics, graphene optoelectronics, etc. Nanostructures with a magnetic field localized in a nanoscale can be used when designing elements of optical and quantum computers. Also, they can be used as a foundation when developing new information technologies that perform quantum computing as well as processing and storage of information.