Powerful nanoscale oscillator

UCLA researchers use a novel application of technology to develop a powerful microwave oscillator that may lead to cheaper and more efficient mobile communications. Typical oscillators function by moving around electrons and conveying information through the electromagnetic this movement produces. These oscillators instead use electron spin to generate electromagnetic waves, resulting in what the UCLA team calls spin-transfer nano-oscillators, or STNOs. "Previously, there had been no demonstration of a spin-transfer oscillator with sufficiently high output power and simultaneously good signal quality, which are the two main metrics of an oscillator -- hence preventing practical applications," said co-author Pedram Khalili. The STNO shows a power output of nearly 1 micro-watt, and a record narrow signal linewidth of 25 megahertz. The development grew out of DARPA-funded research at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.