Browse Physics

The ability to detect the spin Hall effect electrically could make an obscure but intriguing effect more accessible to research.

The exactly quantized magneto-optical response of a topological insulator is a direct result of the Berry phase protected states on its surface.

A single $30$-femtosecond pulse has been used to observe x-ray diffraction of a magnetic material, potentially opening the way to ultrafast probing of spin dynamics with nanometer spatial resolution.

Thermal magnetic fluctuations, usually thought of as a barrier to magnetic information storage and processing, can be harnessed to make green, low-energy magnetic applications a possibility.

The magnetic state of a multiferroic device can be controlled purely by an electric field—a property that could greatly reduce overheating in data storage devices.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.