8 research outputs found
Spin relaxation of conduction electrons in polyvalent metals: A realistic calculation
Relaxation of electronic spins in metals is significantly enhanced whenever a
Fermi surface crosses Brillouin zone boundaries, special symmetry points, or
lines of accidental degeneracy. A realistic calculation shows that if aluminum
had one valence electron, its spin relaxation would be slower by nearly two
orders of magnitude. This not only solves a longstanding experimental puzzle,
but also provides a way of tailoring spin dynamics of electrons in a conduction
band.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; to appear in PR
Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications
Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and
manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article
reviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and
well-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles
underlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and
spin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs
from charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to
spin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin
decoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin
injection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures
relevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties.
Experimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in
which external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be
used to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not
feasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.Comment: invited review, 36 figures, 900+ references; minor stylistic changes
from the published versio