IBM Unfolds Spintronics - Technique That Uses Spin Of Electrons To Store Information

IBM has moved a step towards the use of spintronics in computing. With a technique in which electron spin is used to store information, the new discovery is expected to result in energy efficient devices. The important aspect for successful use of spintronics is that the electron spins should be synchronous i.e. after a particular time all the electrons should spin in same direction and at same angle; which was really hard to obtain, till now! In a general scenario, spinning electrons would loose synchronization after sometime. To obtain synchronization, a continuous spin-orbit interaction has to be maintained which couples the spin with motion of the electron.

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Scientists have observed that electrons could spin in a 'persistent spin helix' and the spins can travel for about 10 micrometers in a semiconductor (gallium arsenide), at a very low temperature of  about 40 kelvin. Low temperature ensures minimum interaction of electron spin with the environment. The technology is exceptionally better than the present one, which utilizes electrical charge for storing data, but a limitation of the present technique includes continuous shrinking of semiconductor dimensions upto a limit that the flow of electrons cannot be controlled.

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