In a new branch of physics and technology, called spin-electronics or spintronics, the flow of electrical charge (usual current) as well as the flow of electron spin, the so-called "spin current", are manipulated and controlled together. This book is intended to provide an introduction and guide to the new physics and applications of spin current.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the field of spin dynamics and magnetic damping. It discusses the various ways to tune damping, specifically, dynamic and static control in a ferromagnetic layer/heavy metal layer. In addition, it addresses all optical detection techniques for the investigation of modulation of damping, for example, the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect technique.
Magnetic and spintronic materials are ubiquitous in modern technological applications, e.g. in electric motors, power generators, sensors and actuators, not to mention information storage and processing. Medical technology has also greatly benefited from magnetic materials – especially magnetic nanoparticles – for therapy and diagnostics methods. All of the above-mentioned applications rely on the properties of the materials used. These properties in turn depend on intrinsic and extrinsic material parameters. The former are related to the actual elements used and their properties, e.g. atomic magnetic moment and exchange interaction between atoms; the latter are related to the structural and microstructural properties of the materials used, e.g. their crystal structure, grain size, and grain boundary phases. Focusing on state-of-the-art magnetic and spintronic materials, this book will introduce readers to a range of related topics in Physics and Materials Science. Phenomena and processes at the nanoscale are of particular importance in this context; accordingly, much of the book addresses such topics.
Metallic Spintronic Devices provides a balanced view of the present state of the art of metallic spintronic devices, addressing both mainstream and emerging applications from magnetic tunneling junction sensors and spin torque oscillators to spin torque memory and logic. Featuring contributions from well-known and respected industrial and academic experts, this cutting-edge work not only presents the latest research and developments but also: Describes spintronic applications in current and future magnetic recording devices Discusses spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive random-access memory (STT-MRAM) device architectures and modeling Explores prospects of STT-MRAM scaling, such as detailed multilevel cell structure analysis Investigates spintronic device write and read optimization in light of spintronic memristive effects Considers spintronic research directions based on yttrium iron garnet thin films, including spin pumping, magnetic proximity, spin hall, and spin Seebeck effects Proposes unique solutions for low-power spintronic device applications where memory is closely integrated with logic Metallic Spintronic Devices aims to equip anyone who is serious about metallic spintronic devices with up-to-date design, modeling, and processing knowledge. It can be used either by an expert in the field or a graduate student in course curriculum.
In the past 30 years, magnetic research has been dominated by the question of how surfaces and interfaces influence the magnetic and transport properties of nanostructures, thin films and multilayers. The research has been particularly important in the magnetic recording industry where the giant magnetoresistance effect led to a new generation of storage devices including hand-held memories such as those found in the ipod. More recently, transfer of spin angular momentum across interfaces has opened a new field for high frequency applications.This book gives a comprehensive view of research at the forefront of these fields. The frontier is expanding through dynamic exchange between theory and experiment. Contributions have been chosen to reflect this, giving the reader a unified overview of the topic. - Addresses both theory and experiment that are vital for gaining an essential understanding of topics at the interface between magnetism and materials science - Chapters written by experts provide great insights into complex material - Discusses fundamental background material and state-of-the-art applications, serving as an indispensable guide for students and professionals at all levels of expertise - Stresses interdisciplinary aspects of the field, including physics, chemistry, nanocharacterization, and materials science - Combines basic materials with applications, thus widening the scope of the book and its readership
Over two volumes and 1500 pages, the Handbook of Spintronics will cover all aspects of spintronics science and technology, including fundamental physics, materials properties and processing, established and emerging device technology and applications. Comprising 60 chapters from a large international team of leading researchers across academia and industry, the Handbook provides readers with an up-to-date and comprehensive review of this dynamic field of research. The opening chapters focus on the fundamental physical principles of spintronics in metals and semiconductors, including an introduction to spin quantum computing. Materials systems are then considered, with sections on metallic thin films and multilayers, magnetic tunnelling structures, hybrids, magnetic semiconductors and molecular spintronic materials. A separate section reviews the various characterisation methods appropriate to spintronics materials, including STM, spin-polarised photoemission, x-ray diffraction techniques and spin-polarised SEM. The third part of the Handbook contains chapters on the state of the art in device technology and applications, including spin valves, GMR and MTJ devices, MRAM technology, spin transistors and spin logic devices, spin torque devices, spin pumping and spin dynamics and other topics such as spin caloritronics. Each chapter considers the challenges faced by researchers in that area and contains some indications of the direction that future work in the field is likely to take. This reference work will be an essential and long-standing resource for the spintronics community.
Spintronics, being a part of electronics, is under intense development for about forty years and mainly concerns transport of electronics spin in low-dimensional structures. This field, based on often difficult theoretical concepts of quantum physics, has surprisingly strong and real technological and application consequences. Thus, spintronic solutions concern memory systems, information processing devices and are used as sensors to detect variety of physical fields. The early development of this field can be associated with the names of such scientists as: E. I. Rashba, A. Fert, P. Grünberg, J. Barnaś, B. Hillebrands, G. Güntherodt, I. K. Schuller, M. Grimsditch, A. Hoffman, P. Vavassori, and S. Datta. This list is absolutely not closed and might be easily extended, however, it results rather from scientific history and contacts with people who influenced the research carriers of the authors. The authors give in this up-dated 2nd edition an insight into this emerging field providing theoretical and experimental aspects of spintronics and guide readers from a basic understanding of fundamental processes to recent applications and future possibilities opened by ongoing research. The textbook is suited for students and for interested scientists who were discouraged by the theoretical formalism only.
Nanomagnetic and spintronic computing devices are strong contenders for future replacements of CMOS. This is an important and rapidly evolving area with the semiconductor industry investing significantly in the study of nanomagnetic phenomena and in developing strategies to pinpoint and regulate nanomagnetic reliably with a high degree of energy efficiency. This timely book explores the recent and on-going research into nanomagnetic-based technology. Key features: Detailed background material and comprehensive descriptions of the current state-of-the-art research on each topic. Focuses on direct applications to devices that have potential to replace CMOS devices for computing applications such as memory, logic and higher order information processing. Discusses spin-based devices where the spin degree of freedom of charge carriers are exploited for device operation and ultimately information processing. Describes magnet switching methodologies to minimize energy dissipation. Comprehensive bibliographies included for each chapter enabling readers to conduct further research in this field. Written by internationally recognized experts, this book provides an overview of a rapidly burgeoning field for electronic device engineers, field-based applied physicists, material scientists and nanotechnologists. Furthermore, its clear and concise form equips readers with the basic understanding required to comprehend the present stage of development and to be able to contribute to future development. Nanomagnetic and Spintronic Devices for Energy-Efficient Memory and Computing is also an indispensable resource for students and researchers interested in computer hardware, device physics and circuits design.
Starting from quantum mechanical and condensed matter foundations, this book introduces into the necessary theory behind spin electronics (Spintronics). Equations of spin diffusion, -evolution and -tunelling are provided before an overview is given of simulation of spin transport at the atomic scale. Furthermore, applications are discussed with a focus on elementary spintronics devices such as spin valves, memory cells and hard disk heads.