A new single-atom magnet developed by researchers in Switzerland provides tech companies an opportunity to create smaller yet longer-lasting magnetic storage devices such as memory cards and hard drives for computers.

With newer computing devices taking on smaller and more portable designs over the past few years, the demand for better miniaturized data storage has increased significantly as well.

Engineers have tried to scale down various forms of magnetic media but it has not been easy since magnets tend to become more unstable and less magnetized the more they are shrunk. The single-atom magnets that were created were able to contain electronic data at a random value and only for a fraction of a second.

In a study featured in the journal Science, researchers at the école polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) described how they successfully created the smallest yet most stable single-atom magnet in the world.

The breakthrough single-atom magnet was created through the use of atoms of a rare element known as holmium.

Lead author Harald Brune and his colleagues placed single atoms of the earth element on ultrathin magnesium oxide sheets, resulting in the creation of single-atom magnets that were able to remain magnetized, also known as magnetic remanence, for longer periods. This was because the holmium atoms' electron structure had better protective properties, which prevented their magnetic field from being disrupted.

The researchers saw that the holmium atoms were able to maintain their magnetic remanence despite being exposed to 40 Kelvin (72 degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures.

The team's calculations indicated that the remanence of a single atom of holmium at such temperatures is significantly higher compared to the remanence of other magnets that were previously created. This proved that the newly developed single-atom magnet had surpassed similar technologies both in terms of size and stability.

Aside from holmium, Brune and his colleagues believe that the magnesium oxide substrate can also be used with molecules of other elements. They also plan to create other magnets that can contain electrons with different spins, which could lead to the development of data storage for spintronic gadgets.