A team of researchers led by University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor of Physics Enrique Del Barco is working on a new project that could change the future of electronics, making them faster and more energy efficient.

The work is funded by a new $1.3 million award from the W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, and the team includes researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, New York University and University of California, Riverside.

The researchers aim to fix a longstanding problem in today’s electronics – energy inefficiency.

Today’s electronics, from smartphones to electric cars, generate large amounts of heat as electrical currents flow through their components. This heat not only wastes energy but also damages devices over time.

The researchers are addressing this challenge by developing materials that allow electricity to move through devices without creating heat, potentially transforming how technology is built and powered.

“Keck funds projects that are inherently very high risk, but that if successful, could represent a scientific or technological breakthrough of the utmost impact in society,” Del Barco says. “This is certainly the case, as we aim at validating a theoretical proposal by one of our team members that promises a new way of processing information without energy waste.”

Current forecasts predict that most of the energy consumed in the world within the next couple of decades will be employed in data processing, and that 99.99% of it is wasted in heat due to existing inefficient electronic processes, Del Barco says.

“If we succeed, it could become a long-term solution for humankind and the way we consume our natural resources,” he says.

Cutting-edge Approach

The researchers are exploring intrinsic magnetic topological insulators, special materials that enable the control of magnetism using electricity with minimal heat generation. Their approach is unique because they are developing methods to harness the magnetic properties of these materials to influence electron spin, a fundamental aspect of spintronics devices such as hard drives and magnetic sensors.

This innovative use of intrinsic magnetic topological insulators in spintronic devices could lead to faster, more energy-efficient electronics with reduced heat generation and power consumption, thereby improving the performance of devices like smartphones and computers.

About the Research Team

The project is led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, each contributing specialized expertise. Del Barco will oversee high-frequency spin dynamics studies. Simranjeet Singh from Carnegie Mellon University will focus on developing 2D-based devices and conducting electrical and magnetic characterization. Andrew Kent from New York University will conduct experiments to study the self-torques acting on the magnetic order in topological insulator materials that are the focus of the project. Ran Cheng from the University of California, Riverside, is the author of the theoretical proposal that this project is based on and will conduct theoretical modeling and computational research on magnetic topological insulators.

“This is a very prestigious award,” Del Barco says. “UCF has only been awarded it once before ours, which makes me particularly happy about it, as I like to see UCF becoming more prominent, and these awards provide institutional visibility.”

Researcher’s Credentials

Del Barco received his doctoral degree in condensed matter physics from the University of Barcelona in Spain. He worked as a postdoctoral associate in the physics department at New York University before joining UCF in 2005.

About the W. M. Keck Foundation

The W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 in Los Angeles by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. One of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, the W. M. Keck Foundation supports outstanding science, engineering and medical research. The Foundation also supports undergraduate education and maintains a program within Southern California to support arts and culture, education, health and community service projects.