This refers to the study of : Role played by electron spin in solid state physics. Possible specifically devices exploit that spin
In Spintronics , information is carried by orientation of spin rather than charge. Spin can assume one of the two states relative to the magnetic field, called spin up or spin down.
MOORES LAW: It states that the number of transistors on a silicon chip will roughly double every eighteen months.
dimensions.
So the size of transistors & other components cannot be reduced further.
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POWER DISSIPATION=GREATEST OBSTACLE FOR MOORES LAW ! Modern processor chips consume ~100 W of power of which about 20% is wasted in leakage through the transistor gates.
Spin injection
Spin manipulation
Spin detection
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Spin Injection
It is the transport of (or creating a) non-equilibrium spin population across interface
Using
a ferromagnetic electrode
Tunnel
barrier could be used to effectively inject spins into a semiconductor spin injection via Schottky barrier
Tunneling By
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hot electrons
Spin Manipulation
To control electron spin to realize desired physical operation efficiently by means of external fields Mechanism for spin transfer implies a spin filtering process. Spin filtering means that incoming electrons with spin components perpendicular to the magnetic moment in the ferromagnet are being filtered out. Spin-polarized current can transfer the angular momentum from carriers to a ferromagnet where it can change the direction of magnetization This effect is equivalent to a spin transfer torque.
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M1
M2
The spin of the conduction electron is rotated by its interaction with the magnetization.
This implies the magnetization exerts a torque on the spin. By Conservation of angular momentum, the spin exerts an equal and Opposite torque on the magnetization.
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electron spins.
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Materials of Spintronics
Currently used materials in conventional electronics are usually non-magnetic and only charges are controllable.
Existing metal-based devices do not amplify signals. Whereas semiconductor based spintronic devices could in principle provide amplification and serve, in general, as multifunctional devices. All the available ferromagnetic semiconductor materials that can be used as spin injectors preserve their properties only far below room temperature, because their Curie temperatures (TC) are low.
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ADVANTAGES OF SPINTRONICS
Non-volatile memory Performance improves with smaller devices Low power consumption Spintronics does not require unique and specialized semiconductors Dissipation less transmission
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spins go
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Types of GMR:
1) Multilayer GMR Two or more ferromagnetic layers are separated by a very thin non-ferromagnetic spacer (e.g. Fe/Cr/Fe). The GMR effect was first observed in the multilayer configuration. 2) Granular GMR Granular GMR is an effect that occurs in solid precipitates of a magnetic material in a non-magnetic matrix. Granule sizes vary
depending on the cooling rate and amount of subsequent annealing. Granular GMR materials have not been able to produce the high GMR ratios found in the multilayer counterparts.
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Applications of GMR:
1)Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory: Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) is a non-volatile computer memory (NVRAM) technology, which has been under development since the 1990s. Continued increases in density of existing memory technologies, notably Flash RAM and DRAM kept MRAM in a niche role in the market, but its proponents believe that the advantages are so overwhelming that MRAM will eventually become dominant.
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2)HARD DISK: These devices are a hybrid of a hard disk and more up to date types of memory, such as flash memory, commonly used in digital cameras. Like flash, MRAM has no moving parts and retains all of its data even when the power is switched off. But, like a hard drive, it stores data as magnetic charges. 3)Quantum computer: With quantum computing you are able to attack some problems on the time scales of seconds, which might take an almost infinite amount of time with classical computers.
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Tunnel Magnetoresistance
Magnetic tunnel junction has two
magnetic layers separated by an insulating metal-oxide layer. Is similar to a GMR spin valve except that a very thin insulator layer is sandwitched
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Tunnel Magnetoresistive effect combines the two spin channels in the ferromagnetic materials and the quantum tunnel effect
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Applications of TMR:
Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory
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Journey of MRAM
Problems encountered: 1. The density of bits was low. 2. Cost of chips was high. Improved designs to overcome these problems would work only at liquid nitrogen temperature. An important breakthrough was made in the year 2009. Scientists at the North Carolina State University discovered a semiconductor material Galium manganese nitride that can store & retain spin orientation at room temperature. And research is still going on
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GMR - Giant magnetoresistance - HDD read heads MTJ - Magnetic Tunnel Junction - HDD read heads+MRAM MRAM - Magnetic RAM - nonvolitile memory STT - Spin Transfer Torque - MRAM+oscillator
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Limitations
Problems that all the engineers and scientists may have to overcome are: To devise economic ways to combine ferromagnetic metals and semiconductors in integrated circuits. To find an efficient way to inject spin-polarized currents, or spin currents, into a semiconductor. To create long relaxation time for effective spin manipulation. What happens to spin currents at boundaries between different semiconductors? How long can a spin current retain its polarization in a semiconductor?
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Future Demands
Moores Law states that the number of transistors on a silicon chip will roughly double every eighteen months By 2012, it is projected that the width of the electrodes in a microprocessor will be 40nm across As electronic devices become smaller, quantum properties of the wavelike nature of electrons are no longer negligible Spintronics devices offer the possibility of enhanced functionality, higher speed, and reduced power consumption.
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REFERENCES
Nanomagnetism and Spintronics, by Teruya shinjo. The Physics and Chemistry of nanisolids, by Frank J.Owens, Charles P.Poole. Introduction to Spintronics, by S.Bandyopadhyay, M.Cahay. Nobel lecture: Origin, development and future of Spintronics, Reveiws of Modern Physics,Vol.80,
October-December 2008.
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