Running an electric current through a material can actually strengthen its magnetism instead of destroying it with heat.
March 31, 2026
Original Paper
Current-tunable room temperature ferromagnetism and current-driven phase transitions
arXiv · 2603.27298
The Takeaway
In almost all materials, heat from electricity weakens magnets, but researchers found a specific layered material where the current acts like an 'effective magnetic field.' This actually pushes the magnet's operating temperature well above room temperature, solving a major hurdle for future electronics.
From the abstract
It is generally assumed that the application of a charge-current in ferromagnetic metals suppresses their ferromagnetic order through trivial Joule heating. Here, we demonstrate that a charge current can instead enhance magnetic ordering. Using a WTe2/Fe3Ge2Te (FGT) stack as a model system, we show that a charge current flowing in WTe2 controls the ferromagnetic properties and magnetic phase transition of the adjacent FGT via a current-induced effective magnetic-field arising from orbital magnet