InternalThe X-ray flashes of the European XFEL will enable scientists to study exciting aspects of magnetization – with direct applications in data storage.
When materials reverse their magnetization, i.e. the north and south pole switch their respective positions, this is due to a complex interplay of the electrons in the materials. Using the X-ray flashes of the European XFEL, these incredibly fast processes can be studied with very high temporal and spatial resolution. In addition, it will be possible to excite individual constituents of magnetic systems in order to investigate the effects on the general magnetic behaviour.
Understanding better how magnetization is created and how it can be reversed is especially interesting for the miniaturization of electronic devices. Here, technology reaches limits set by physical boundary conditions, for instance with respect to the size of memory devices or the time required to write or read data. To optimize such components even further, these physical boundaries have to be systematically exploited. The spatial and temporal investigation of such processes on nanometre-sized samples whose structure closely resembles that of components in modern electronic media, will allow scientists to explore those boundaries. The results can help to harness new physical processes or to optimize the geometry of electronic devices.
