Yonsei Professor Hong Jong-ill and his research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering have developed a method of using low-energy proton irradiation to create high-density information storage. The results of the research were published May 27 in ACS Nano under the title “An Array of Ferromagnetic Nanoislands Nondestructively Patterned via a Local Phase Transformation by Low-Energy Proton Irradiation.” In the future, this process can be used in making computer hard drives, displays, and semiconductors.

Joining Professor Hong on the research team were Dr. Kim Sang-hoon and Lee Soo-gil. A number of governmental agencies and private organizations provided funding for the project, including the Ministry of Education, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Synchrotron Radiation User’s Association, and the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory.

According to Professor Hong, who has been invited to present the results of his research at the 2014 International Magnetic Recording Conference: “The nondestructively patterned array created by low-energy proton irradiation will achieve a high density of information recorded with lower costs than the conventional method.”