An unusual magnetic state detected in a layered material could offer a new route to ultrafast memory and energy-efficient electronics.

Inside a crowded electronic circuit, stray magnetic fields can interfere with nearby components. Researchers developing faster, more efficient computers want to use electron spin, a quantum property, to carry information alongside electrical charge. That requires materials that can handle spin without creating unwanted magnetic interference.

University of Central Florida physicist Madhab Neupane and his collaborators have found a promising candidate in Co₁/₄TaSe₂, a layered material containing magnetic cobalt atoms. Their experiments detected signatures of altermagnetism, a form of magnetism that combines useful properties of ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism.