Australian researchers are looking at strangely-shaped magnetic fields as a new way to store data.

Material scientists at UNSW say that skyrmions - or 'whirl' shaped magnetic textures - are a promising new way to store and process information in computers and electronic devices.

It is hoped that the bizarre technology could significantly cut down the energy required to maintain our digital lifestyles.

Skyrmions are magnetic textures that possess a kind of built-in enhanced stability over time, making stored information non-volatile and ‘live’ longer.

Currently, information in computers is processed through dynamic memory, which is less stable and therefore requires more energy to maintain.

Researchers from UNSW Science have collaborated with researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US and the University of Auckland, to investigate the potential of what they call “skyrmion lattice manipulation” to lower energy consumption in electronics.

Their techniques enable them to look at the magnetic skyrmions in a new oxide material, Te-doped Cu2OSeO3.

“We show how these skyrmions form and transform in thin films of the material with applied magnetic field, temperature and as a function of material composition. We especially investigate thin films of the material, only a few hundred atoms thick.” says UNSW’s Professor Jan Seidel.

“Thin films in single phase, skyrmion host materials so far have been rarely investigated, but they are a requirement for future nanoelectronics applications.”

In showing how skyrmion lattice manipulation can be achieved, the group has cleared a path for the development of skyrmion nanoelectronic circuitry in the future.

Experts have suggested that future computers could read and write skyrmions using scanning tunneling microscopy.

The topological charge, representing the existence and non-existence of skyrmions, could represent the bit states ‘1’ and ‘0’.

Professor Seidel’s group will next investigate how to control individual skyrmions in this material. They will also study other doping elements and ratios to further understand their influence on skyrmion properties.

Their most recent study is accessible here.