– IBM researchers today said that they were able to probe magnetic anisotropy in individual atoms, potentially opening the development of a new kind of data storage devices.
In its first report, IBM scientists describe progress in probing a property called magnetic anisotropy in individual atoms. This fundamental measurement is believed to have a substantial impact on technology as it determines an atom’s ability to store information. Previously, nobody had been able to measure the magnetic anisotropy of a single atom. Down the road, the company believes that it may be possible to build structures consisting of small clusters of atoms (or individual atoms) that could store magnetic information.