Seeing Spins Dance: Spin Waves Observed at the Nanoscale for the First Time

Nanoscale Spin Waves

In a landmark achievement for nanomagnetism and electron microscopy, scientists have directly observed spin waves—also known as magnons—at the nanoscale for the very first time. This breakthrough, published in Nature, opens the door to deeper understanding and control of magnetism at quantum levels and may revolutionize future computing architectures based on spin instead of charge.

The research was led by Uppsala University in collaboration with global partners and leveraged advanced instrumentation at the SuperSTEM laboratory in the UK. By combining a state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) with theoretical models and simulation tools developed at Uppsala, researchers were able to visualize the elusive nanoscale "dance" of atomic spins in real time.

Original article citation: https://phys.org/news/2025-07-nanoscale.html

Magnons: The Future of Spin-Based Computing

In magnetic materials like iron or nickel, atoms behave like tiny bar magnets due to their intrinsic spin. These spins can interact to form synchronized wave-like patterns called spin waves. The quantized version of these waves is known as a magnon. Unlike electrons in traditional circuits, magnons don’t carry charge—just spin. This makes them perfect candidates for magnonic devices that could be faster, smaller, and far more energy-efficient than conventional electronics.

But until now, observing these spin waves at the nanoscale—where device miniaturization is heading—has been nearly impossible. Surface magnons have been glimpsed, but their internal dynamics remained hidden.

A Front-Row Seat to the Quantum Ballet

Using high-energy-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), researchers measured the energy loss of electrons as they passed through nanocrystals of nickel oxide. These tiny energy changes revealed the subtle signals of magnons in action.

“We could suddenly see all the magnons and every step of their dance at the nanoscale. It was like getting front-row seats to a performance no one had ever seen in full,” said co-first author José Ángel Castellanos-Reyes of Uppsala University.

The detection was made possible by pairing the EELS data with two advanced theoretical tools developed at Uppsala:

  • TACAW – Time Autocorrelation of Auxiliary Wavefunctions, which simulates how fast-moving electrons interact with spin waves.
  • UppASD – Uppsala Atomistic Spin Dynamics, an open-source software that models the magnetic behavior of atoms over time.

Together, these tools helped identify a predicted magnon energy of ~100 meV in nickel oxide nanocrystals, which the experiment confirmed.

Impact on Future Technologies

This discovery is a milestone for the emerging field of magnonics. By using spin rather than electrical charge, future devices could:

  • Consume less energy (lower heat generation)
  • Operate at higher speeds
  • Be more robust to external interference

Applications may include next-generation memory devices, quantum sensors, and even spin-based logic circuits for quantum computing. The ability to monitor magnons at the nanoscale also enables detailed study of magnetic defects, such as vacancies, which were previously invisible at this level of detail.

Looking Ahead

Now that the door has been opened, researchers expect a rapid expansion in nanoscale magnetic studies. With simulation tools like UppASD and experimental platforms like SuperSTEM, the scientific community has a powerful new toolkit to explore and engineer spin behavior in novel materials.

In an era where reducing energy consumption and miniaturizing components are top priorities, magnonics could be the key to the next technological revolution—and now, we can finally see it happening.

More details: Demie Kepaptsoglou et al., “Magnon spectroscopy in the electron microscope,” Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09318-y

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#SpinWaves #Magnons #Magnonics #ElectronMicroscopy #Nanomagnetism #Spintronics #UppsalaUniversity #STEMMicroscopy #QuantumMaterials #PWmat #MaterialsScienceInnovation

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