Electric currents drive all our electronic devices. The emerging field of spintronics looks to replace electric currents with what are known as spin currents.
Researchers from the University of Tokyo have made a breakthrough in this area. Their discovery of the magnetic spin Hall effect could lead to low-power, high-speed and high-capacity devices. They have created sample devices which can further research into potential applications.
“Electricity lit up the world and electronics connected it,” says Professor Yoshichika Otani from the Institute for Solid State Physics. “Spintronics will be the next step forward in this procession and we can only imagine what advances it may bring.”
So what is spintronics and why should we be excited?
“In essence spintronics is used to transfer information, something we have always used electric currents for,” continues Otani, “but spintronics offers a whole range of advantages, some of which we’re just starting to understand.”
Currently, power efficiency of electrical and electronic devices is a limiting factor in technological development. The problem lies in the nature of electric currents, the flow of charge in the form of electrons. As electrons traverse a circuit they lose some energy as waste heat. Spintronics improves upon the situation – instead of movement it exploits another property of electrons to transfer information, their angular momentum or “spin”.
“In spin currents electrons still move but far less than in a charge current,” explains Otani. “It’s the movement of electrons that typically leads to resistance and waste heat. As we reduce the need for so much electron movement we improve efficiency dramatically.”
To demonstrate this phenomenon researchers created a new kind of material called a ‘non-collinear antiferromagnet’ – Mn3Sn which is a special kind of magnet. In everyday magnets – or ferromagnets – such as you might find on fridge doors, the spins of the electrons within align in parallel which imbues the material with its magnetic effect. In this antiferromagnet the spins of the electrons line up in triangular arrangements such that no one direction is prevalent and the magnetic effect is effectively suppressed.
When a small electric current is fed into Mn3Sn and a magnetic field is applied to it in just the right way, the electrons order themselves according to their spin and electrical current flows. This is the magnetic spin Hall effect, and the process can be reversed with the magnetic inverse spin Hall effect to get an electric current from a spin current.
In Mn3Sn alike spins tend to accumulate on the surface of the material, so it’s cut into thin layers to maximize its surface area and thus the capacity of spin current a sample carries. The researchers have already embedded this material into a functional device to serve as a test bed for possible applications and are excited by the prospects.
“Power efficiency in electrical systems is enough to pique the interest of some, but the use of antiferromagnets to generate spin currents could improve other aspects of technology too,” says Otani. “Antiferromagnets more easily miniaturized, operate at higher frequencies and pack more densely than ferromagnets.”
But how do these ideas translate into applications?
“Miniaturization means spintronic devices could be made into microchips,” continues Otani. “High frequencies mean spintronic chips could outperform electronic ones in operation speed, and higher density leads to greater memory capacity. Also low dissipation in spin currents at room temperatures improves power efficiency further still.”
Devices based on the traditional spin Hall effect already exist in spintronics research but the magnetic spin Hall effect and novel materials used could vastly improve all kinds of technology.
“There is still much work to do including exploration of the underlying principles behind the phenomenon we investigate,” concludes Otani. “Driven by mysteries of exotic materials, I’m thrilled to be part of this technological revolution.”
Learn more: Spin devices rev up
The Latest on: Spintronics
[google_news title=”” keyword=”spintronics” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Spintronics
- NVE Corp (NVEC) Reports Significant Revenue and Net Income Decline in Fiscal 2024on May 1, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Despite the downturn, NVE Corp announced a quarterly cash dividend of $1.00 per share of common stock, payable on May 31, 2024, to shareholders of record as of May 13, 2024. This move underscores the ...
- NVE Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Results and Announces Quarterly Dividendon May 1, 2024 at 9:05 am
(Bloomberg) -- MetLife Inc. reported earnings that beat analysts’ expectations for the first quarter.Most Read from BloombergTesla Axes Supercharger Team in Blow to Broader EV MarketUS and Saudis Near ...
- “Magnetisation switching” can replace transistors, cutting energy demand from computing by an order of magnitudeon May 1, 2024 at 12:00 am
Globally, energy demand from computing is growing so fast the search is on to find fundamental ways to make it more efficient. “Magnetisation switching” has long been seen as a more efficient way than ...
- Revolutionizing Technology: Spintronics Market Surges, Expected to Reach US$ 1.4 Billion by 2033on April 29, 2024 at 5:18 am
Spintronics Market is set to cross worth of US$ 1,394.2 Million at 7.3% CAGR during forecast period 2023 to 2033 | Data analysis by Future Market Insights, Inc.
- A Paradigm Shift in RAM Is About to Make Computing Unstoppableon April 24, 2024 at 5:30 am
Every computer needs Random Access Memory (or RAM) for an operating system’s temporary storage, and there’s many ways to achieve this need for memory speed. One of the leading methods is ...
- Unlocking spin current secrets: A new milestone in spintronicson April 23, 2024 at 2:55 pm
Using neutron scattering and voltage measurements, a group of researchers have discovered that a material's magnetic properties can predict spin current changes with temperature. The finding is a ...
- Spintronics research shows material's magnetic properties can predict how a spin current changes with temperatureon April 23, 2024 at 10:11 am
Spintronics is a field garnering immense attention for its range of potential advantages for conventional electronics. These include reducing power consumption, high-speed operation, non-volatility, ...
- Magnetic with a pinch of hydrogen: Research team develops new idea to improve the properties of ultra-thin materialson April 22, 2024 at 7:14 am
Magnetic two-dimensional materials consisting of one or a few atomic layers have only recently become known and promise interesting applications, for example for the electronics of the future. So far, ...
- Skyrmions move at record speeds: A step towards the computing of the futureon April 19, 2024 at 5:45 pm
Scientists have discovered that the magnetic nanobubbles known as skyrmions can be moved by electrical currents, attaining record speeds up to 900 m/s. Anticipated as future bits in computer memory, ...
- A new spin on materials analysis: Benefits of probing electron spin states at much higher resolution and efficiencyon April 17, 2024 at 12:45 pm
Electron spin states can now be probed at much higher resolution and more efficiently, opening new opportunities in materials analysis and data processing technologies.
via Bing News