Creating Skyrmions by Twisting Atomically Thin Magnetic Layers

ENG: As the world creates more data every day, scientists are looking for ways to store information in much smaller spaces without losing reliability. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart report a promising step in that direction. By introducing a very small twist between ultra thin layers of a magnetic material called chromium iodide, they produced tiny, stable magnetic swirls known as skyrmions. These structures are extremely robust, which is why they are so interesting as potential building blocks for future high density data storage.

Credit: University of Stuttgart / Ludmilla Parsyak
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High Efficiency Stretchable OLED Displays

ENG: Flexible, stretchable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are increasingly important for mobile displays and for wearable electronics that could conform to the body and show changes in temperature, blood flow, or pressure in real time. A key challenge has been keeping OLED brightness stable after repeated bending and stretching, because conventional transparent conductor layers can crack over time or reduce charge transport when combined with stretchable polymers. Researchers from Drexel University and Seoul National University report a device design that targets this durability problem by rethinking both the light-emitting layer and the transparent electrodes.

Credit: Drexel University
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