spintronicbased

Spintronic-based technologies are those that rely on the spin of the electron, in addition to its charge, to store, transmit, or process information. Spin, the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, can be oriented parallel or antiparallel in magnetic materials, leading to changes in electrical resistance that can be detected and controlled. The central phenomena include magnetoresistance, particularly giant magnetoresistance and tunnel magnetoresistance, which enable devices whose resistance depends on magnetic alignment.

Core building blocks include magnetic tunnel junctions, consisting of two ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating barrier, commonly MgO. The relative alignment of the magnetic layers alters resistance, which can be switched by currents through spin-transfer torque or, more recently, spin-orbit torque. Materials engineering, including Heusler alloys and heavy metals that generate strong spin currents, is crucial for performance and energy efficiency.

Dominant applications are in data storage and memory, notably magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), which can retain information without power and offers high endurance. Other spintronic devices include spin-based logic and racetrack memory concepts, along with sensitive magnetic sensors used in hard disk drives and automotive systems. Research also explores spintronic approaches to neuromorphic and in-memory computing.

Materials challenges include integrating spintronic layers with conventional CMOS processes and achieving low switching energy at high densities. Ongoing work targets scalable fabrication, reliability, and reducing variability. The field envisions spintronic-based systems as complements to conventional electronics, enabling nonvolatile memory, low-power operation, and new computing paradigms, with rapid progress in MRAM commercialization and research into spin-based logic and sensing.