Researchers discover that current flow in a ferromagnetic conductor can produce a magnetic-moment directed spin polarization

Researchers from NYU and IBM Research have created a spintronics device from a ferromagnetic conductor and discovered that current flow in the conductor can produce a spin polarization that is in a direction set by its magnetic moment.

This discovery means that magnetic moment direction can be set in just about any desired direction to then set the spin polarization - this is not possible using the contours of the spin Hall effect in non-magnetic heavy metals.

The researchers also discovered that these polarized spins travel outside the ferromagnetic layer and lead to a pure spin current—a spin current with no associated electrical current—in an adjacent non-magnetic metal. This phenomenon has the potential to enable a new generation of spin-controlled memory device for higher-density and more efficient memory technology.

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Posted: May 29,2020 by Ron Mertens