Major nanoparticle breakthrough could help realize 'spintronic' devices

For the first time researchers have demonstrated a new way to perform functions essential to future computation three orders of magnitude faster than current commercial devices. The team lead by Associate Professor Shinobu Ohya, created a nanoscale spintronic semiconductor device that can partially switch between specific magnetic states trillions of times a second (terahertz -- THz), far beyond frequencies of devices at present.