A team from the University of Ottawa and MIT has published a comprehensive review of magnetic topological materials in the journal Newton.
The review covers over twenty years of research and outlines four main families of these materials. These materials exhibit the quantum anomalous Hall effect, where electrical current flows with minimal energy loss without an external magnetic field. Potential applications include energy-efficient computing, memory devices, and AI hardware.
The Current Challenge
The effects are currently observable only at temperatures near absolute zero. Achieving room-temperature operation is a major goal.
A Roadmap to Room Temperature
Three specific pathways have been proposed to overcome this limitation:
- Using AI and computational screening to identify candidate materials.
- Engineering layered thin-film structures.
- Discovering new families of magnetic topological materials.
"Magnetic topological materials offer a unique platform where magnetism and quantum physics work together in ways we are only beginning to fully understand." — Hang Chi, Canada Research Chair and uOttawa professor
"We are not there yet, but we now have a much clearer roadmap," Chi added. "By combining advances in material synthesis, computational screening, and machine learning, we believe room-temperature magnetic topological devices are within reach."
Publication Details
The review, titled "Progress and prospects of magnetic topological materials for spintronic applications," was authored by Peng Chen, Hang Chi, and Jagadeesh S. Moodera.