Spintronics

Fernando Luis, Physics 2, 75 (2009) – Published September 14, 2009

Magnetism Nanophysics Spintronics

A microscopic study of magnetic nanoislands on a surface challenges the widely held view that all atoms in a relaxing nanoparticle flip their spins in unison.

David Awschalom, Nitin Samarth, Physics 2, 50 (2009) – Published June 15, 2009

Spintronics

The spin-orbit effect is at the heart of efforts to merge spintronics—where information is carried and stored by spin, rather than by charge—with semiconductor technology.

Marshall Stoneham, Physics 2, 34 (2009) – Published April 27, 2009

Quantum Information Spintronics

Creating a practical solid-state quantum computer is seriously hard. Getting such a computer to operate at room temperature is even more challenging. Is such a quantum computer possible at all? If so, which schemes might have a chance of success?

Published March 30, 2009

Mesoscopics Nanophysics Spintronics

Optical measurements in electron gases at low temperatures and high magnetic fields show the electron spins are, as predicted, polarized, but that this state is surprisingly delicate.

Matthew F. Doty, Daniel Gammon, Physics 2, 16 (2009) – Published February 23, 2009

Quantum Information Spintronics

Two theoretical studies reveal how one might achieve electric-field control of spin in semiconductors, both in an impurity-localized electron, and also with a quantum dot molecule.

José María De Teresa, Physics 2, 13 (2009) – Published February 17, 2009

Magnetism Spintronics

Using a double spin-filter tunnel junction consisting of two magnetic insulating layers, researchers have observed a sizeable magnetoresistance without using magnetic electrodes, thus tuning the tunneling via the magnetic state of the insulating layers and by application of an electric voltage.

Robert McMichael, Mark Stiles, Physics 2, 11 (2009) – Published February 9, 2009

Spintronics

A magnetic domain wall moving along a ferromagnetic wire can generate a voltage across the wire. This electromotive force, which is not the same as Faraday’s law of induction, is part of a growing family of interactions that are being discovered in the field of spintronics.

Piers Coleman, Physics 2, 6 (2009) – Published January 20, 2009

Spintronics

The presence of iron in gold has long been known to lead to an increase in gold’s low-temperature resistivity. Theorists argue that this “Kondo effect” may have implications for spintronics as well.

Charles Gould, Laurens W. Molenkamp, Physics 1, 43 (2008) – Published December 22, 2008

Spintronics

In the design of spintronic devices, magnetic semiconductors have the potential to be an “all in one material,” but they are usually ferromagnetic only at low temperatures. However, by growing an iron layer on top of a magnetic semiconductor it is possible to induce room-temperature ferromagnetism in a thin layer near the interface.

Published December 11, 2008

Spintronics

The effects of torques caused by spin-polarized currents are often unwanted in magnetic nanostructures, but they can be diminished with the right design.

Jonathan Sun, Physics 1, 33 (2008) – Published November 3, 2008

Nanophysics Spintronics

If a magnet is small enough, an electric current carrying polarized spins can flip it around. Scientists are finding clever ways to control this spin-torque effect precisely, both for when it is wanted and when it is not.

Published October 6, 2008

Magnetism Spintronics

From conservation laws to selection rules, symmetry arguments have long been revered for their far-reaching consequences in physics. Now they point to an effective spin-orbit coupling in antiferromagnetic conductors.

Published September 22, 2008

Spintronics

The efficient injection of polarized spins from magnetic materials into semiconductors, a prerequisite for spintronics applications, is a formidable challenge. With ferromagnetic Co₂FeSi it is now possible to achieve a spin injection efficiency of close to 50%.

Published July 28, 2008

Quantum Information Spintronics

Spin decoherence is a fundamental obstacle in quantum computation and spintronics. Scientists show they can increase the lifetime of a localized spin in a diamond lattice up to 100 times by polarizing the surrounding spins on the lattice.