Manipulating atomic spacing to fundamentally alter magnetic properties; even materials rigid in bulk form can become flexible at nanoscale

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-stretchable-nanofilms-tunable-magnetic-properties.html

"overcomes limitations of conventional deposition methods on nanoscale magnetic thin film substrates... deposit magnetic nanofilm, such as cobalt or nickel, onto pre-stretched flexible substrate (greater stretching = stronger embedded magnetic anisotropy), release tension enabling contraction altering nanofilm's atomic spacing... created bilayer structure with perpendicular magnetization directions, for magnetic sensors/ strain gauges... beyond magnets, also superconductors, semiconductors, dielectrics... energy-efficient electronics"

Related: Atomic neighborhoods in semiconductors provide new avenue for designing microelectronics

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-09-atomic-neighborhoods-semiconductors-avenue-microelectronics.html