The cover is a representation of the "nanoneedle" pressing the surface of the iron-rhodium alloy, causing the magnetic state of the materials to change in a simple and localized way. By pressing on different areas of the material, researchers have managed to generate antiferromagnetic nano-islands embedded in a ferromagnetic matrix, a very difficult task with the current techniques available. 

The method was developed by researchers at the ICMAB, UAB and the ALBA Synchrotron, in collaboration with the UB and ICN2. The technique locally modifies the properties of a metamagnetic material by applying local pressure to the surface of the material using nanometric needles, allowing a much more easy and local modification than current methods. The research opens the door to a more accurate and precise control of magnetic materials and allows to improve the architecture and capacity of magnetic digital memories.

We highlighted this publication in the news post "Nanoneedles to increase the capacity and robustness of digital memories" which you can read in our website. 

Or you can go to the Materials Horizons website to read the abstract and the full article "Local manipulation of metamagnetism by strain nanopatterning".

In the press: 

• Una nueva técnica basada en nanoagujas permite memorias digitales más robustas y con más capacidad (BioTech, 27/05/2020) 
• Nuevo avance para mejorar la capacidad de las memorias digitales magnéticas (La Vanguardia, 26/05/2020) 
• Nueva técnica basada en nanoagujas permite memorias digitales más robustas y con más capacidad (Menéame, 26/05/2020) 
• Nanoneedles to increase the capacity and robustness of digital memories (Phys.Org, 26/05/2020)
• Nanoneedles to increase the capacity and robustness of digital memories (Zephyrnet,26/05/2020)

Reference Article:

Local manipulation of metamagnetism by strain nanopatterning, 
Michael Foerster, Enric Menéndez, Emerson Coy, Alberto Quintana, Carles Gómez-Olivella, Daniel Esqué de los Ojos, Oriol Vallcorba, Carlos Frontera, Lucia Aballe, Josep Nogués, Jordi Sort and Ignasi Fina. 
Mater. Horiz., 2020,7, 2056-2062
DOI: 10.1039/D0MH00601G