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Spintronics in your Future?

Posted by michael on from the they-do-it-with-magnets dept.

slugfro writes: "Do faster boot times and RAM that maintains memory after shutdown sound interesting? This article by a Science Magazine author details the study of utilizing the spin of electrons rather than just the charge in electronic devices (hence the name 'Spintronics'). Anyone out there researching this or have more info?" We do a story about MRAM every four months or so, and each time commercial development is a few years in the future. :)

2 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Sounds like by Computer! · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not really. It's basically as binary as traditional computing, just using a different measure for "on" and "off": "up" and "down". Look:

    Just like the positive/negative duo of charge, the 0s and 1s of current information technology, this up/down pairing makes spin an attractive possibility for encoding and carrying information electronically.

    The "quantum-readyness" of this technology is the same as charge. The cat is spinning both upand down at the same time, until you open the box.

    --
    If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
  2. Re:Measuring spins? by wass · · Score: 3, Interesting
    My research group has measured spin-polarization in CrO2 and determined it to be 96%, the highest spin-polarizatized material yet known. This is the first experimental confirmation of of a half-metal. (half-metallic ferromagnet).

    Measurement of the spin-polarization was done through Point-Contact Andreev Reflection (PCAR) measurements at the interface of a superconductor/ferromagnetic. Ie, at the interface between the CrO2 crystal and a sharp-tipped lead superconductor in the vicinity of 4K (maybe colder).

    For more info, see my other post further down on this slashdot article.

    --

    make world, not war