WHAT DO YOU SEE?


An electron microscopy image showing

a) Spider threads
b) Visualization of electric current
c) Magnetic braids of nanovortices

 

Answer c is correct

 

The complex cord-like structures you see are so-called skyrmions which are tiny magnetic vortices. The individual strings are a hundred times thinner than a human hair. Skyrmions were first experimentally detected about 10 years ago. With their help, it will one day be possible to develop new types of computers that consume less energy while being even more powerful than today’s. Researchers worldwide are therefore investigating how the nano-formations can be generated and used. The cord-shaped skyrmion strands were discovered at Forschungszentrum Jülich where one of its institutes, the Ernst Ruska Centre, operates some of the most powerful electron microscopes of our time.

 

Find out more about our work and the opportunities to do research with us. We offer positions for students, PhDs, postdocs as well as the possibility to apply for measurement time to use our ultra-high resolution electron microscopes: