Cornell researchers have found a way to use voltage to shift the layers of graphene and switch the material between magnetic and nonmagnetic states, an experimental advance that could help shape future quantum materials.
The study, published Oct. 14 in Nature Nanotechnology, examined a stack of four graphene layers. Applying voltage changed how the layers aligned, and the resulting state persisted after the voltage was removed, according to Cornell.
Kenji Yasuda, an assistant professor in Cornell's School of Applied and Engineering Physics and the study's senior author, said the team used the relatively weak bonds between layers to change the material's structure without breaking the stronger bonds within each layer.
In its common stacking arrangement, the four-layer material was nonmagnetic. A different arrangement was associated with magnetism. The team reported that it could move the material back and forth between the states.
Lead author Daniel Brandon, a doctoral student, said the persistent change could be useful for a form of memory. The researchers said the technique could eventually help scientists design reconfigurable quantum materials, but they did not report a commercial device.
The U.S. Department of Energy primarily supported the research, which also used Cornell facilities supported by the National Science Foundation.
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