On 27 October 2026, researchers at UC San Diego announced a method for changing magnetic states with light to write digital information. The study, published in Nature Communications, used a shaped and reduced ultrafast laser beam to switch magnetisation in a magnetic material. The researchers estimate that the technique could operate more than 1,000 times faster than conventional magnetic switching methods.
Optical Switching in Data Storage
Optical switching is the use of light to change a material’s magnetic state. Magnetic storage systems encode digital data in small magnetic regions, with different orientations representing binary values. Conventional writing methods can use an external magnetic field to change those orientations. The UC San Diego method uses laser pulses to alter magnetic states without an external magnetic field. Light can be delivered in short pulses and focused on small areas.
Ultrafast Laser and Beam Shaping
The researchers controlled the laser beam’s shape and size to concentrate its energy on a small region of the magnetic material. In the demonstrated process, initial pulses briefly heat a local area and trigger a reversal of magnetic orientation. Further pulses expand the reversed region until the new magnetic state becomes stable. The team’s approach modifies how light interacts with existing magnetic materials rather than creating a new material. The researchers estimate a potential switching speed more than 1,000 times that of conventional magnetic switching.
Magnetic Multilayers and Experimental Constraints
Earlier optical-switching experiments were limited to magnetic structures no thicker than three layers and required light with a particular polarisation. The UC San Diego team demonstrated switching in a structure with nine alternating layers of platinum and cobalt. The process also worked without requiring a specific light polarisation. The thicker structure and removal of the polarisation requirement address two constraints faced by earlier experiments. The research team was led by Abdoulaye Ndao, a professor of electrical and computer engineering; Muhammad Waleed Khalid was the study’s first author.
Important Facts for Exams
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The study was conducted by engineers at the University of California San Diego. The findings describe an experimental method and do not establish that a commercial memory device is available.
