New Findings Could Help Build Computers That Think More Like Your Brain

Researchers from the University of Mainz and NTNU captured for the first time in real time how an ordered lattice of magnetic skyrmions loses order while simultaneously controlling individual vortices. The work, published in Nature Nanotechnology, could advance energy-efficient brain-like computers.

• Skyrmions are nanoscale magnetic vortices capable of storing and processing data
• Lattice melted through an intermediate phase: positions lost, orientation partially preserved
• Defects spread through the lattice up to 100 times faster than the skyrmions themselves
• No practical devices yet—this is fundamental research