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A team of researchers from the University of Science and Technology of Beijing (USTB) and the Materials Physics Center of the CSIC in the Basque Country has made a significant advancement in semiconductor technology. This group has optimized the magnetic properties of bismuth ferrite, a semiconductor material that not only acts as a magnet but also has the ability to generate electricity. This improvement could transform the production of memory chips by offering high capacity and low energy consumption.
The study revealed that partially replacing oxygen in the ferrite with sulfur increases the material’s magnetic strength by up to 62 times. Linxing Zhang, one of the lead researchers, indicated that this modification in composition alters the structure of the semiconductor and reorganizes the arrangement of iron atoms, resulting in a more robust magnetization.
Additionally, this advancement enhances magnetoelectric coupling, a fundamental property that allows simultaneous control of the electrical and magnetic characteristics of the material. Yue-Wen Fang, a scientist at the CSIC, emphasized that this discovery could facilitate the creation of more cost-effective and efficient storage devices.
Despite these advancements, bismuth ferrite remains a subject of study after more than 50 years of research. Its unique properties have raised various unanswered questions due to the complex interactions between its electric charges and magnetic characteristics.
The semiconductor exhibits both positive and negative charges that naturally separate, allowing it to change direction through the application of energy. This way, it alternates between two stable states, functioning similarly to a switch. In the context of random access memory using this material, information is retained even during power outages, unlike conventional dynamic RAM, which loses data without electrical supply.
Bismuth ferrite combines electricity and magnetism into a single material, making it an interesting option for devices that require low energy consumption or that need to store larger amounts of information. However, it is still in the development phase, as magnetization in thin layers proves to be very weak.
In complementary research, Zhang and Fang have developed a material called Bi0.5Sm0.5FeO3, which allows for the adjustment of the internal stress of the semiconductor, in turn improving its electronic and optical properties. With this new material, devices have achieved a voltage of 1.56 V, surpassing the previous limit of 0.5 volts. Thanks to this improvement, it is now possible to read and write multiple values, facilitating the creation of a non-volatile multilevel storage memory capable of retaining information even when powered off.
Source: MiMub in Spanish
