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ePaper created 2014-04-30, 16:22:09 | version 1.30.01
discovered 02 .13 research WWW.Hzdr.DE What was initially known about magnetic discs at the nanometer-scale was that magnets can form two-dimensional vortices. In doing so, they arrange themselves in circles around a vortex core. These kinds of static magnetic vortices – whereby all of the individual magnets remain in place – are not just a matter of interest to basic science, they could have technological applications as well. If a current is applied to the system, for example, the magnets in the disc change their direction, so the magnetic vortex core looks like it is oscillating around in circles. This results in electromagnetic waves being radiated. "That is of interest for ultra-high-speed wireless transmission of information," says Wintz. Stacked layers replace single layers "These magnetic antennas have so far not operated very stably at high power, though. If the rotational speed of the magnetic vortex becomes too high, the orientation of the vortex core switches and the radio wave is interrupted," he explains further. Wintz then experimented not with individual magnetic discs, but instead he stacked two or three magnetic layers on top of one another, each only about ten nanometers thick. He insulated these using non-magnetic metallic layers of various thicknesses. Then he drove to PSI in Switzerland to investigate the fabricated system of layers. The scanning