A significant scientific breakthrough has been made by researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), where they discovered a new form of magnetism in neodymium nitride (NdN).

What is Rare-earth magnetism? 

• Rare-earth magnetism refers to the magnetic properties exhibited by rare-earth elements, particularly those from the lanthanide series like neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), and dysprosium (Dy), which are used to create high-strength permanent magnets.

About the Discovery of Orbital-Driven Magnetism

• New Magnetic Behavior in NdN: Researchers found that single-crystal thin films of NdN exhibit ferromagnetism driven by the electron’s orbital angular momentum, rather than the electron spin, which governs traditional magnetism.
• This orbital-driven magnetism represents a paradigm shift in the understanding of magnetic properties in rare-earth materials, diverging from conventional theories based on electron spin.
• Significance in Quantum Technologies: The study opens doors to the emerging field of orbitronics, which seeks to leverage the orbital motion of electrons for next-generation quantum and magnetic devices.

About Neodymium

• Neodymium (Nd) is a chemical element in the lanthanide series of the periodic table, symbolized as Nd with atomic number 60.
• Physical Properties: 
  • Neodymium is a rare-earth metal characterized by its silvery-white appearance. 
  • It is relatively soft, malleable, and has a high melting point of about 1,024°C.
• Magnetism:
  • Neodymium is most renowned for its role in creating high-strength permanent magnets, known as Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets. 
  • These magnets are among the strongest commercially available, with applications in electric motors, wind turbines, and hard drives.
• Occurrence: 
  • Neodymium is found in various minerals, notably in monazite and bastnäsite, which are typically extracted through mining. 
  • However, neodymium is rarely found in isolation and is often extracted along with other rare-earth elements.
• Applications:
  • High-performance magnets: NdFeB magnets are used in electronics, computers, mobile devices, and clean energy technologies like electric vehicles (EVs) and wind turbines.
  • Laser technology: Neodymium is used in neodymium-doped lasers (Nd:YAG), employed in medical treatments, material processing, and defense applications.

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Implications for Future Technologies

• Designing Orbitronic Devices: The discovery of orbital-driven magnetism could lead to the development of materials with strong orbital contributions, essential for future orbitronic devices.
• Advancing Quantum and Magnetic Technologies: By tuning both spin and orbital moments, researchers can design more efficient quantum and magnetic devices, which could overcome the limitations of existing spin-based information and memory technologies.
• Boosting Efficiency in Quantum Devices: This discovery may help develop faster, more energy-efficient technologies in the fields of quantum computing, spintronics, and data storage.

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