Spintronics

Abstract

Conventional MOS integrated circuits and systems suffer serve power and scalability challenges as technology nodes scale into ultra-deep-micron technology nodes (e.g., below 40nm). Both static and dynamic power dissipations are increasing, caused mainly by the intrinsic leakage currents and large data traffic. Alternative approaches beyond charge-only-based electronics, and in particular, spin-based devices, show promising potential to overcome these issues by adding the spin freedom of electrons to electronic circuits. Spintronics provides data non-volatility, fast data access, and low-power operation, and has now become a hot topic in both academia and industry for achieving ultra-low-power circuits and systems. The ITRS report on emerging research devices identified the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) nanopillar (one of the Spintronics nanodevices) as one of the most promising technologies to be part of future micro-electronic circuits. In this review we will give an overview of the status and prospects of spin-based devices and circuits that are currently under intense investigation and development across the world, and address particularly their merits and challenges for practical applications. We will also show that, with a rapid development of Spintronics, some novel computing architectures and paradigms beyond classic Von-Neumann architecture have recently been emerging for next-generation ultra-low-power circuits and systems.

From Spintronic Memristors to Quantum Computing

“…136 The spintronic memristor based on STT and SOT effects has broad application prospects in QC. 137,138 In particular, spintronic memristor based on spintronics may have quantum effects caused by the spin characteristics of electrons. 139 This type of spintronic device with various properties has laid a certain foundation for various fields in the future.…”

Room-temperature electric field control of spin filtering efficiency for enhanced modulation of optical spin polarization in a defect-functional 0D–2D hybrid nanostructure

“…This electron spin information can result in fast data processing and a long storage time with ultralow power consumption. 5 In semiconductors, spin-polarized electrons recombine radiatively with holes and emit circularly polarized light. In this process, the circular polarization property of light reflects the electron spin polarization via photoelectric conversion, according to the optical-transition selection rule.…”

Efficient Room‐Temperature Voltage Control of Picosecond Optical Spin Orientation Using a III‐V Semiconductor Nanostructure

“…[3,4] Spintronics circuits and systems can provide data nonvolatility, fast data access, and low-power operation. [5] During the past two decades, there has been significant advances in metal-based spintronics, [6,7] and now, spin-based information processing/ storage technologies are approaching the practical stage. The next step is the integration of spintronics into semiconductor engineering, in which spin polarization (corresponding to spin information) can be generated, manipulated, conserved, and transferred to circularly polarized light.…”