The recent research results released by “Big Blue” promise breakthroughs in storage capabilities for computers. “This success could even eliminate Moore’s Law, although further testing is still needed,” stated Andreas Heinrich, Director of the research center in San Jose, California (USA) for IBM.
The technique developed by IBM experts focuses on controlling magnetic fields at the atomic level. This method is based on a technology known as “spin-excitation spectroscopy,” which utilizes a special microscope capable of generating magnetic fields with a force 140,000 times stronger than Earth’s gravity. Researchers then introduced atoms into the microscope to assess the interaction between the spins of the atoms, which is the fundamental source of magnetic states. In their experiments, IBM scientists created atomic chains and evaluated the changing magnetic properties as each additional atom was introduced. They discovered that chains containing an even number of atoms did not exhibit stable magnetic states, while those with an odd number of atoms showed the opposite.
According to Heinrich, the new technique—similar to the binary model of current processors—could be used to expand data storage limits or pave the way for new forms of storage, potentially even leading to the creation of “microscopic” computers, which are computing devices at the atomic level.
The aforementioned research results from IBM also highlight the clearer potential of quantum computing, a technology that is currently still in its nascent stages but promises powerful breakthroughs in data processing, encryption, and many other tasks that require significant and complex computing power.
A few years ago, IBM also succeeded in using a set of molecules to create a computer circuit that is 260,000 times smaller than traditional silicon chip designs, or in other words, equivalent to 50 years of miniaturization at the pace of development described by Moore’s Law.
