New data storage material retains its special magnetic properties even at room temperature

A new material could become the basis for future data storage devices, since it may enable significant reductions in energy demands in comparison to present-day hard drives. This is a material from the class of so-called magnetoelectric multiferroics, whose distinguishing characteristic is that their magnetic and electrical properties are coupled to each other. Thanks to this coupling, it should be possible to write magnetic bits by means of more energy-efficient electric fields. It has long bee...