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Researchers from the University of Leeds and the Jožef Stefan Institute have presented new metal-organic structures for magnetic data storage with minimal energy input.  In a study published in the prestigious journal [[ https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.202419192 | Advanced Materials ]], they demonstrated a reorientation transition of the magnetic moment under the influence of molecular contacts with ferromagnetic films, resulting from competition between the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy induced by a heavy non-magnetic metal and the in-plane magnetic anisotropy caused by molecules. By changing the thickness of the ferromagnet or selecting the molecular overlay layer (C60 and various phthalocyanines), the transition temperature can be adjusted to around room temperature. Near the transition temperature, the direction of magnetization can be easily switched with a small energy input, either by electric current or optically, with a femtosecond laser pulse.  The results indicate applications in heat-assisted magnetic recording technologies. Research into ultra-fast switching with short optical pulses was conducted by young researcher Jaka Strohsack and Assoc. Prof. Tomaž Mertelj from the Complex Materials Department at the Jožef Stefan Institute.