Spintronics-Info is a news hub and knowledge center born out of keen interest in spintronic technologies.
Spintronics is the new science of computers and memory chips that are based on electron spin rather than (or in addition to) the charge (used in electronics). Spintronics is an exciting field that holds promise to build faster and more efficient computers and other devices.
Researchers from the University of Würzburg developed a new room-temperature 2D topological insulator material that is promising for spintronics applications.
To create this material, the researchers used a single-sheet of bismuth atomsdeposited on a silicon carbide substrate. The silicon carbide structures causes the bismuth atoms to arrange in a honeycomb structure - which resembles the structure of graphene films. The researchers call their new material "bismuthene".
Researchers from Chalmers University developed a new graphene-based room-temperature spin field-effect transistor (G-FET).
As part of the research, it was demonstrated that the spin characteristics of graphene can be electrically regulated in a controlled way, even at an ambient temperature. This structure is not only useful to make spin-logic devices - it can also be used to integrate device-level magnetic memory (MRAM) elements.
Researcherrs from Likoping University in Sweden demonstrated a method to generate and manipulate the surface spin current in topological insulators.
The researchers used a combination of a topological insulator (Bismuth Telluride, Bi2Te3) and a regular GaAs semiconductor. The electroncs were generated with the same spin in the GaAs using polarized light. The electrons were then transferred to the TI.
Researchers from Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley synthesized a new 2D topological insulator material, called 1T’-WTe2. In such a material the flow of electrons is completely linked to the direction of their spin, and is limited to the edge of the material.
This material excites the scientists as they see great spintronics applications of 2D topological insulators. The researchers now aim to synthesize larger samples and find out the way to selectively adjust and emphasize particular characteristics
Researchers from the University of Texas in Dallas developed an all-carbon spin logic design for a switch that could be the basis of carbon spin logic devices.
The design is based on graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanotubes, which in conjunction can be used to create cascaded logic gates that are not physically linked. The communication between the gates happens via an electromagnetic wave (and does not use any physical movement of electrons), it is anticipated that communication will be much quicker - with the potential for terahertz clock speeds. The size of these logic gates will be much smaller than silicon based gates.
This book discusses spin transfer torque (STT) based devices, circuits and memories. The book details the basic concepts and device physics, advanced STT applications and the outlook for the technology.
Other topics featured in the book include the architectures, performance parameters, fabrication, and the prospects of STT based devices - in addition to presenting a non-volatile computing architecture composed of STT based magneto-resistive and all-spin logic devices.
Researchers from Brown University in collaboration with researchers from Japan developed a way to induce an inverted magnetocapacitance effect - this is a new phenomenon that could benefit future spintronics devices. The researchers say that Magnetocapcitos could be useful to make magnetic sensors and adding an inverse effect may allow for greater design freedom.
To achieve this effect, the researchers used different materials to build a quantum tunneling junction. The image above shows two electrodes - made from Fe3O4 and Fe. The patterns indicate that Fe3O4 has the inverse spinel structure with the same crystal orientation of the MgO substrate, while Fe takes polycrystalline structure.
