A team of Yale researchers has figured out what gives a magnetic material its mysterious properties, a discovery that could help boost computing memory and the field of “spintronics.” Their work is published in Physical Review Letters.

Iron-intercalated niobium disulfide (FeₓNbS₂) is a material in which iron atoms are inserted into the gaps between layers of niobium disulfide. Materials scientists have taken a great interest in the material because they can switch its resistance states by sending electrical current pulses through it.

“This is a very surprising thing, because usually it’s difficult to switch such states with electrical current at a low density,” said professor Yu He, who led the study. Wenxin Li, a Ph.D. student in He’s lab, is the first author.