Giant
Magnetoresistance
Group
3
Brian
Porterfield, Casey Grisham, Van Witherspoon
Key
Words: Nanotechnology, Spintronics, Magnetization
The new technology our group found was the
groundbreaking discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance. Giant Magnetoresistance is
the technique of taking data from compacted hard disks and reading them. This
new technology takes electrons and efficiently makes them more useful in a
variety of electronics. The efficiency utilizes both charge and spin of the
electron to not only read data, but makes equipment work period. This technique
of using electrons will be a benefit to businesses because it allows businesses
to not only create more space on their computers, but also to make information
put on the computers safer by not permanently writing information without fear
of losing information.
Giant Magnetoresistance is a result of the evolution
from the use of induction cords to magnetoresistance. Induction cords were used
in read-out heads to write information onto hard disks. Because of the rapid
change in technology, these coils were not able to read the information
properly. Magnetoresistance became the better technique for reading and use for
writing stored technology.
Magnetoresistance is seen in two manners. With the
first being an actual resistance. Electricity on a metal conductor travels
freely through the surface’s area. The electrons all move in a uniform manner
in a certain direction. Whenever any electrons deviate from the original path,
they scatter and a resistance is created. When there are more scattering
electrons, the resistance on the surface is stronger. The second manner is
magnetization. The scattering of electrons in a magnetic surface is caused
strictly by magnetization. During this resistance, electrons will actually
start to spin causing the resistance.
Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg are the two
scientists who discovered this new technology. Both men worked on this new
technology separately while trying to find a new way of using the layers to
create a difference of resistance. These men are recipients of the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize for Physics.
These layers
they discovered were a phenomenon to the world and given the name Giant
Magnetoresistance. With GMR, there are three metal layers. There are two
metallic, and one non-metallic layer in the middle.
The electrons move in these layers uniformly, and if
the magnetization is weak and there are few spinning electrons, then there is a
small resistance. However when there are opposite magnetized layers, the moving
spinning electrons create a large resistance.
With this new discovery, businesses that use data
(like spreadsheets) can now write information without the fear of losing what
is written in case of an accident. With the use of computers now, RAM is used
to store information, and this information has to be saved manually, in order
to be safe. Electronics like computers, music players, and phones will continue
to become sleeker and smaller. The discovery of the GMR technology has become a
catalyst for this new generation of technologies. Because of GMR nanotechnology
will become more accessible. With nanometer structures being so small, GMR
layers are making these concepts a reality.
With wireless laptops used today, even though they
can work without land line electricity, there is still a need to manually save
information. When the battery goes dead, all information will be lost; however
the use of GMR will write and store information at the same time, eliminating
the use of electricity.
What GMR will do to eliminate this electric use has
influenced the term, spintronics. Spintronics uses both the electron charge and
spin in thicker layers so that even with a weak charge information can be
processed and read. Spintronics and nanotechnology both became a branch off the
discovery of GMR.
Giant Magnetoresistance was discovered by two men,
Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg. Their mission was to find a way to get a
different resistance of electrons, and they both succeeded. This discovery was
over 20 years in the making, and it all started from the induction coil
introduced by Lord Kelvin in 1857. Because of their efforts, they were recently
awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for Physics. From this discovery, a more
efficient use of an atom’s electrons was found. By using both an electrons spin
and magnetization, new forms of electronics could be utilized. By using GMR,
there will soon be an elimination of the RAM used on computers today. Also as
we see everyday gadgets get smaller and smaller, it will not seem impossible to
picture a phone as thin as a credit card. It won’t even be unfathomable to
believe a fully processed computer being the size of a small book. Because of
Giant Magnetoresistance and the new forms of technologies that branch from it, the
world will literally be in the palms of everyone’s hands.
References
Nobel Prize Laureates. (2007). The Nobel Prize in Physics 2007. Retrieved October 10,2007 from
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2007/info.pdf
Giant Magnetoresistance
(Group 3)
1. Who
discovered Magnetoresistance?
A. Albert
Einstein
B. Thomas Aquinas
C. Fert
and Grunberg
D. Aristotle and Plato
2. What
award was given for physics in 2007?
A. Emmy
B. Purple
Heart
C. Nobel
D. Grammy
3. What
part of the atom is used for the magnetization?
A. Electron
B. Neutron
C. Proton
D. Matter
4. What
is a branch of GMR?
A. Nanotechnology
B. Spintronincs
C. Both A and B
D. Neither
5. How
long did it take for GMR to be discovered?
A. 30
years
B. 20
years
C. 15
weeks
D. 4
hours
6. Where do electrons flow in an
electric surface?
A. Diagonal
B. Freely
C. Clockwise
D. Flat
7. Who Discovered
Inductor Coils?
A. Lord
Kelvin
B. Bill
Nye
C. King
Phillip
D. Edward
Glock