A research team led by Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, which also included Forschungszentrum Jülich and JARA, The University of Tokyo, HZB and Institut Polytechnique de Paris, has demonstrated a purely orbitronic device concept in which orbital currents are used directly, without conversion into spin currents, to generate exceptionally large magnetoresistance signals in antiferromagnetic heterostructures. 

Building on recent predictions that orbital current effects can exceed spin-current effects by orders of magnitude, the team shows that these giant orbital currents can be harnessed in practice by replacing conventional spin-dominated magnets with magnets dominated by orbital angular momentum (OAM). This work, led by Dr. Christin Schmitt in the group of Professor Mathias Kläui at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), was carried out with more than twenty international collaborators.

Researchers Shuxia Tao (Department of Applied Physics) and Björn Baumeier (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science) at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have been awarded funding by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to tackle one of spintronics' most persistent open questions: Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity (CISS).

The five-year project, named uniCISS, targets the CISS effect - a phenomenon observed for over two decades in which electrons traveling through chiral (spiral-structured) materials are selectively filtered by their quantum spin state. Despite its well-documented experimental occurrence, no complete theoretical framework has been established to explain the underlying mechanism, making deliberate materials engineering around the effect largely impossible.

Researchers from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, International Kazakh-Turkish University, University of California and Argonne National Laboratory have introduced a predictive synthesis framework to boost the spin-relevant performance of chiral 2D metal halide perovskites (MHPs) for next-generation spintronics. Chiral 2D MHPs are promising materials for spin-optoelectronic devices that exploit the electron’s spin degree of freedom, yet their chiroptical response, quantified by the absorption dissymmetry factor (g_abs), has shown large variability and poor reproducibility. This has hindered the rational design of reliable spintronic components such as circularly polarized LEDs, photodetectors, and spin filters.

To tackle this challenge, the team built a data-driven framework that directly links synthesis “knobs” to chiroptical properties. Using Pearson’s correlation, ANOVA, and Gaussian process regression, they systematically evaluated how solvent choice, annealing temperature, film thickness, and other structural and morphological factors influence g_abs. The analysis reveals solvent choice as the primary driver of variability: acetonitrile (ACN)-processed films consistently exhibit higher and more reproducible g_abs values than films fabricated from dimethylformamide (DMF) or ACN:dimethyl sulfoxide (ACN:DMSO) mixtures. For ACN-based films, the model identifies specific annealing temperature and thickness ranges that maximize g_abs, providing a clear processing playbook instead of ad hoc optimization.

Researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Hubei University have developed a spin-orbit torque (SOT)-based key generation system that unifies cryptographic key generation, concealment, and attack detection within a single spintronic device platform. By combining physically unclonable function (PUF) behavior with true random number generator (TRNG) functionality, the approach introduces a hardware-rooted security primitive in which key access is intrinsically tied to irreversible physical transformations.

At the core of the system are Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta spintronic Hall devices, which simultaneously host two complementary entropy sources. Dynamic entropy arises from stochastic magnetization switching under zero-field conditions, enabling true random number generation. In parallel, static entropy originates from device-to-device variations in the critical switching current caused by fabrication process deviations, allowing the extraction of unique and reproducible cryptographic keys. By applying different excitation conditions, the same physical device can switch between these two modes, generating either random numbers or device-specific keys on demand.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore, University of Manchester and National Institute for Materials Science have shown that magnetic proximity can be used to electrically control large spin signals in graphene superlattices, achieving spin polarizations approaching 50% and nonlocal spin resistances above 300 Ω near charge neutrality. 

By placing graphene in close proximity to a magnetic material, they induce a magnetic proximity effect that spin-splits graphene’s bands via interfacial exchange coupling, without permanently magnetizing the carbon lattice or degrading its intrinsic transport properties. In their devices, cobalt contacts are used to generate this exchange field, while pure spin currents are injected and detected nonlocally, allowing the team to map how spin transport responds as the Fermi level is tuned across different charge density regimes.

Researchers from Cornell University, together with collaborators from Columbia University and the University of Delaware, have demonstrated excitonic spin torque in the 2D magnetic semiconductor CrSBr. The work shows that excitons generated by light can directly drive and control magnetization dynamics, rather than only probing them, and establishes a new optical pathway to manipulate spins in magnetic semiconductors.

In the study, the team used ultrafast pump-probe measurements on the van der Waals antiferromagnet CrSBr. A short laser pulse creates a reservoir of tightly bound excitons in the material, and this exciton population exerts a spin torque on the underlying antiferromagnetic order. The torque has both damping-like and anti-damping-like components and drives the spins along a non-trivial trajectory on the magnetic energy landscape.

Researchers from Tohoku University and NIST have demonstrated a CMOS-integrated spintronic probabilistic bit (p-bit), marking a significant step toward scalable probabilistic computing hardware. The work experimentally validates a key building block for p-computers by combining superparamagnetic tunnel junctions (sMTJs) with a standard 130 nm CMOS process, enabling stochastic operation directly on a silicon chip.

(a) Photograph of test chips fabricated on a silicon substrate using semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing processes. (b) Schematic cross-sectional structure of the spintronic p-bit. Transistors and lower interconnect layers were fabricated at SkyWater Technology, followed by fabrication of the spintronic devices at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University. (c,d) Cross-sectional and plan-view electron microscope images of the spintronic device designed to exhibit stochastic fluctuations. Image from: Tohoku University website

Probabilistic computing targets problems that require efficient exploration of vast solution spaces, such as combinatorial optimization and machine learning. Unlike conventional binary systems, which process deterministic 0 or 1 states, p-bits fluctuate continuously between these states. This stochastic behavior allows p-computers to sample many configurations in parallel, making them well suited for complex optimization tasks.

Quantum Design International has acquired Qnami, a Swiss company specializing in diamond-based quantum sensing and scanning probe microscopy technologies. The deal is aimed at expanding Quantum Design’s portfolio for quantum materials, nanomagnetism, spintronics, semiconductors, and advanced device characterization.

Qnami develops nitrogen-vacancy (NV) diamond-based scanning probe systems and components that enable nanoscale magnetic imaging and precision field sensing, tools that are increasingly used in spintronics and quantum materials research. According to the companies, the combined organization will focus on advancing Qnami’s existing SPM platforms and quantum sensing components while exploring new opportunities in academic labs, national facilities, and industrial R&D.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) have discovered hematite, essentially rust, can help design energy-efficient spintronics.

The team’s findings confirmed a key signature of altermagnetism (a new type of magnetism discovered in 2022) in hematite. Altermagnets are magnetic materials in which electron spins align in opposite directions, allowing pure spin currents to flow without a net electric charge - ideal conditions for spintronics. The team measured spin waves, which move through a material's magnetic order similar to how sound waves move through air. They discovered that these waves show a clear separation in energy, a unique signature that confirms the material's altermagnetic nature.

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, in collaboration with Polar Semiconductor and Honeywell Aerospace, is establishing a first-of-its-kind academic-industry Spin Technology Center to advance the state’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry. The $5.7 million project has been awarded $2.83 million from the Minnesota Forward Fund administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, with an additional $2.8 million in matching funding from industry partners Polar Semiconductor and Honeywell Aerospace.

The new center will develop quantum spintronic devices focusing on high-tech magnetic sensors and advanced memory storage. These devices are being adapted for cutting-edge applications, including biomedical devices, industrial automation, automotive applications and specialized technologies designed for extreme environments like space.