Paul Haney (NIST)

Date: Mon. October 31st, 2022, 12:45 pm-1:45 pm
Location: Rockefeller 221 (Foldy) & Zoom
Website: https://www.nist.gov/people/paul-m-haney

Spintronics: from angular momentum to information

Paul Haney

Nanoscale Device Characterization Division, NIST

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Abstract: Spintronics is a field which seeks to utilize the electron spin degree of freedom for developing next generation electronics. Well-established spintronic phenomena have already made a transformative impact on data storage technology in previous decades. Modern spintronics research is focused on utilizing spin-orbit coupling to realize more energy-efficient memory, and applying spintronic devices to next-generation computing designs. In this talk we present a fundamental framework for understanding spintronic device physics from the point of view of angular momentum conservation. Within this framework, we provide a simple physical picture for phenomena underlying modern spintronic devices, namely the Rashba-Edelstein and spin Hall effects. Finally, we illustrate these ideas with two examples: the self-torque in single thin film ferromagnets, and spin-orbit torques in the antiferromagnetic van der Waals CrI 3 bilayer.

Host: Shulei Zhang