China Tongcheng Tianbai Plastic Co.,Ltd.

 A new plastic device storing information using magnetism could eventually replace traditional computer and smartcard memory, according to researchers at Ohio State University.

The workers claim to have created the world’s first functioning room-temperature plastic “spintronics” device. Spintronics is a field of electronics dealing with controlling the spins of electrons to store information — by contrast with the completely different principle of conventional semiconductors.

The innovation is viewed as a possible replacement to traditional silicon flash memory and even processing electronics, being cited as using less space, processing data faster, consuming less power than semiconducting devices and running much cooler.

OSU’s implementation of an organic spintronics device uses a thin strip of dark blue magnetic material made of the nano-structured polymer vanadium poly[tetracyanoethanide] and layered with an iron-based ferromagnet.

Lead researcher Professor Arthur Epstein said: “Spintronics is often just seen as a way to get more information out of an electron, but really it’s about moving to the next generation of electronics. We could solve many of the problems facing computers today by using spintronics.

“We would love to take portable electronics to a spin platform. If we had lighter-weight spintronic devices operating at a lower energy cost, and if we could mount them on flexible polymer displays, users could just roll them up and carry them. We see this portable technology as a powerful platform for helping people.”