Spintronics, or “spin electronics”, is the study of the role of spin of electrons in solid state electronics. Solid state devices are based entirely on semiconductors, such as transistors and microprocessors, and contain no moving parts. The field of spintronics was established in the 1980s, following a number of experiments on electron transport in solid state devices. Some of the basic advantages of employing spintronics in new devices include increased processing speeds and decreased power consumption. The theory behind this growing field of research is based on the fact that electrons make up a system of two states, or “species”: “up” and “down”. To produce a spintronic device, you need a system that can generate a current of electrons made up of more of one spin state than the other. This system is known as the “spin injector”. A second system which is sensitive to the spin species of electrons receives information from the first system. This is known as the “spin detector”. Currently, computer hard drives are one of the main applications of the technology, and “solid state drives” are becoming larger and more popular. An exciting idea that is currently under research by Motorola is the development of non-volatile memory, which could be used in a computer to remember the state it was in when it is switched off. You would be able to turn on your PC in the morning and it would automatically load up everything you were working on when you turned it off the night before. As the possibilities of spintronic devices are still emerging, it will be several years before these products become commonplace, but expect to see some interesting developments in the near future.

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