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Strontium oxide as a tunnel barrier for spin injection and giant spin accumulation

Engineering & Physical Sciences
Electronics & Photonics
Semiconductors, Circuits, & Electronic Components
College
College of Arts & Sciences
Researchers
Kawakami, Roland "Roland"
Katoch, Jyoti
Singh, Simranjeet
Licensing Manager
Dahlman, Jason "Jay"
(614)292-7945
dahlman.3@osu.edu

T2017-067

The Need

In today's advancing electronics industry, the growing demand for high-performance devices, coupled with the need for energy efficiency in portable electronics, presents a critical challenge. The primary concern revolves around high power dissipation, leading to undesirable heating of electronic devices and unsatisfactory battery life in smartphones and other portable gadgets. Conventional electronics, reliant on charge magnitude for information conveyance, have limitations in power dissipation, non-volatility, and speed. Therefore, there is a pressing commercial need for a new technology that addresses these issues and provides a more efficient alternative.

The Technology

The technology being introduced is a cutting-edge tunnel barrier spin injector, along with innovative spintronic devices built upon it. Spintronics, a relatively new field of electronics, offers numerous advantages over traditional electronics by utilizing electron spin to convey information instead of charge magnitude. The key processes in spintronic devices include spin injection, spin transport, and spin switching, with the effectiveness hinging on spin accumulation and spin current magnitude. To achieve improved spin injection, the innovation lies in a tunnel barrier layer made of strontium oxide (SrO) as the tunnel barrier material, surpassing the spin injection efficiency of conventional materials like magnesium oxide (MgO).

Commercial Applications

The technology's versatile applications span across various commercial sectors, catering to the demands of modern electronics:

  • Next-generation smartphones and portable electronic devices.
  • High-performance computing and data processing systems.
  • Advanced magnetic storage and memory devices.
  • Spin-based sensors for various industrial and scientific applications.
  • Revolutionary developments in quantum computing and communication.

Benefits/Advantages

The tunnel barrier spin injector and its associated spintronic devices offer numerous benefits and advantages over traditional electronics and spintronic implementations:

  • Enhanced Energy Efficiency: The technology's low power dissipation and improved spin injection efficiency result in energy-efficient electronic devices, extending battery life in portable gadgets and reducing overall energy consumption in computing systems.
  • Faster Data Processing: Leveraging electron spin instead of charge, the spintronic devices exhibit higher data transfer speeds, enabling faster data processing and improved overall system performance.
  • Non-Volatility: The technology's spin-based information storage ensures non-volatile memory, retaining data even without power, which is crucial for data integrity and system reliability.
  • Compact and Scalable Design: The efficient spintronic devices allow for compact device design, enabling the development of smaller and lighter electronic products. Additionally, the technology's scalability facilitates integration into various applications with ease.
  • Emerging Quantum Computing Possibilities: The utilization of spin-based information opens up exciting opportunities in the realm of quantum computing, paving the way for quantum leaps in computational power and capabilities.

In summary, the improved tunnel barrier spin injector and its spintronic devices, based on the utilization of electron spin, offer an innovative solution to the commercial need for highly efficient, low-power dissipation electronics. With its wide-ranging applications and an array of benefits, the technology promises to revolutionize the electronics industry and drive advancements in various fields of science and technology.