Spintronics

Theory, Modelling, Devices

Tomasz Blachowicz, Andrea Ehrmann

• Editorial: De Gruyter
• Año: 2019
• ISBN:
  9783110490695
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Physical Sciences
• Categoría: Physics

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.

1Introduction

The term “spintronics” refers to electronic effects and material properties induced by the spin of an electron. Nowadays, this trivial sentence contains so many meanings, spreading every day to so many regions of material science and physics, including applied and theoretical perspectives, that all this requires significantly more explorations and understanding. This is the main reason to present the reader another book on spintronics.

What is a spin? It is another level of freedom, an element of the quantum mechanics operator algebra, the angular momentum of an electron, a quantum number, a quantity that can be transferred in real devices, a quantity that can be back-reflected at the interface between two materials, a quantity that can be transferred in space without spatial movement of electrons, and also a quantity involved in spinwaves.

This chapter will give an overview of possible answers to this question, their mathematical description, and the consequences for spintronics applications.

1.1What is a spin?

A spin is the angular momentum of an electron. It seems that the electron reveals the fundamental property of self-r...