Feb 24 2011
Researchers at the Chiba University have built a miniscule magnetic sensor from organic molecules found in ink. The team was led by Toyokazu Yamada, a special associate professor at the university’s Graduate School of Advanced Integration Science. Other members included researchers from Germany and France.
Chiba's Magnetic sensor
The magnetic device will be used to detect magnetic data that has been saved in computers and could be used instead of sensors made from rare earth metals that are not easily available in countries like Japan. The team deployed a phthalocyanine molecule of one nanometer in size to build the sensor. The device could enhance the quality of the computer’s performance and efficiency.
The research report has recently been published in the February 21 edition of the online British science journal Nature Nanotechnology. According to Yamada, Japan does not have sufficient resources of rare earth metals. On the other hand, it is possible to fabricate the organic sensing device from carbon, thus ensuring that the material and overall costs are kept at a minimum.