Spin current

Researchers at CIC nanoGUNE BRTA, Charles University in Prague and IKERBASQUE have designed a new complex material with unique properties that could be beneficial for spintronics.

Twist engineering has emerged as a fascinating approach for modulating electronic properties in van der Waals heterostructures. While theoretical works have predicted the modulation of spin texture in graphene-based heterostructures by twist angle, experimental studies are lacking. In this recent work, by performing spin precession experiments, the team demonstrates tunability of the spin texture and associated spin–charge interconversion with twist angle in WSe₂/graphene heterostructures.

Researchers use ultrashort laser pulses to trigger a spin-aligned electron flow on the few-femtosecond timescale—opening up a possible path toward faster spintronic devices.

Spintronics technology requires a rapid, controlled way to create spin currents. To that end, the researchers have demonstrated that short laser pulses can create spin currents within a few femtoseconds (10–15 s) — about 30 times faster than previous techniques. The method, they believe, should provide a more flexible and precise way to generate spin currents by taking advantage of the control that physicists have over laser light.

Researchers from ETH Zurich recently developed a method to control the quantum states of single electron spins using spin-polarized currents, which could enhance quantum computing technologies. The new technique offers more precise, localized control compared to traditional methods using electromagnetic fields, potentially improving the manipulation of quantum states in devices like qubits. 

Control over quantum systems is typically achieved by time-dependent electric or magnetic fields. Alternatively, electronic spins can be controlled by spin-polarized currents. In their recent work, the team demonstrated coherent driving of a single spin by a radiofrequency spin-polarized current injected from the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope into an organic molecule. With the excitation of electron paramagnetic resonance, the scientists established dynamic control of single spins by spin torque using a local electric current. In addition, their work highlights the dissipative action of the spin-transfer torque, in contrast to the nondissipative action of the magnetic field, which allows for the manipulation of individual spins based on controlled decoherence.

Spintronics relies on the transport of spin currents for computing and communication applications. New device designs would be possible if this spin transport could be carried out by both electrons and magnetic waves called magnons. But spin transport via magnons typically requires electrically insulating magnets—materials that cannot be easily integrated with silicon electronics. Recently, a novel way to bypass that requirement has been developed by researchers at ETH Zürich, Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Technical University of Munich, University of Konstanz, Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) and Autonomous University of Madrid.

The researchers say that this finding could have important implications for both spintronic applications and fundamental research on spin transport. To demonstrate their concept, the scientists placed two magnetic, metallic strips—each hosting coupled electrons and magnons—on a nonmagnetic, insulating substrate. In the first strip, the researchers converted electron charge currents to electron spin currents. These spin currents were transferred first to the magnons in the same strip, then across the substrate to the magnons in the second strip, and finally to the electrons in the second strip. The researchers detected this spin transport by converting the electron spin currents in the second strip to charge currents.

Researchers at North Carolina State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University have studied how the spin information of an electron, called a pure spin current, moves through chiral materials. 

They found that the direction in which the spins are injected into chiral materials affects their ability to pass through them. These chiral “gateways” could be used to design energy-efficient spintronic devices for data storage, communication and computing.

Researchers from Tohoku University, University of Tokyo, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization and Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society have found that the spin current signal changes direction at a certain magnetic temperature and diminishes at lower temperatures.

Spintronics uses electrons’ intrinsic spin, which is vital to the field, to regulate the flow of the spin degree of freedom, that is, spin currents. Scientists are continually exploring new ways to manage spintronics for future uses. Detecting spin currents is quite complicated and necessitates the use of macroscopic voltage measurement, which examines the entire voltage fluctuations across a material. However, a major stumbling block has been a lack of understanding of how the spin current flows or propagates inside the material.

Researchers have devised a new ultrafast method for controlling magnetic materials, that may enable next-generation information processing technologies.

A possible solution for building faster systems for processing is to use patterns of electron spins, called spin waves, to transfer and process information much more rapidly than in conventional computers. So far, a major challenge has been in manipulating these ultrafast spin waves to do useful work. Announcing a significant step forward, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and MIT have developed a method to precisely manipulate these ultrafast spin waves using tailored light pulses. Their findings are detailed in two studies in Nature Physics, led by MIT graduate student Zhuquan Zhang, University of Texas at Austin postdoctoral researcher Frank Gao, MIT’s professor of chemistry Keith Nelson and UT Austin assistant professor of physics Edoardo Baldini.

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS), University of Science and Technology of China and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan have developed a way to induce and directly quantify spin splitting in two-dimensional materials. 

Using this concept, they have experimentally achieved large tunability and a high degree of spin-polarization in graphene. This research achievement can potentially advance the field of two-dimensional (2D) spintronics, with applications for low-power electronics.

Scientists at Delft University of Technology have used superconducting diamagnetism to shape the magnetic environment governing the transport of spin waves—collective spin excitations in magnets that are promising on-chip signal carriers—in a thin-film magnet. 

The team has shown that it’s possible to control and manipulate spin waves on a chip using superconductors for the first time. These tiny waves in magnets may offer an alternative to electronics in the future, interesting for energy-efficient information technology or connecting pieces in a quantum computer, for example. The results of this work give scientists new insight into the interaction between magnets and superconductors.

Researchers from Tohoku University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangxi Normal University, Kyushu University and Japan Atomic Energy Agency have reported a significant breakthrough which could revolutionize next-generation electronics by enabling non-volatility, large-scale integration, low power consumption, high speed, and high reliability in spintronic devices.

Spintronic devices, such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM), utilize the magnetization direction of ferromagnetic materials for information storage and rely on spin current, a flow of spin angular momentum, for reading and writing data. Conventional semiconductor electronics have faced limitations in achieving these qualities. However, the emergence of three-terminal spintronic devices, which employ separate current paths for writing and reading information, presents a solution with reduced writing errors and increased writing speed. Nevertheless, the challenge of reducing energy consumption during information writing, specifically magnetization switching, remains a critical concern.