October 2016

Researchers from EPFL and PSI discovered a new material class, which they term multiferroic Rashba semiconductors, that have promising spintronics properties.

The researchers started with a study on the electronic and spin structure of a material made of thin films of Germanium and Tellurium (GeTe) doped with Manganese (Mn). Using photoemission, the researchers were able to study these materials for the first time. It was found that the combination of spin-orbit interaction and magnetism produces some exotic properties.

The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), with funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), is setting up an Emmy Noether independent junior research group to study spintronics.

Specifically, the TWIST (Topological Whirls in SpinTronics) work group will study skyrmions - magnetic "particles" or nodes within a magnetic texture. Skyrmions are more stable than other magnetic structures and react particularly readily to spin currents - which makes them interesting for spintronics applications.