Adding a Building Block to the Quantum Toolbox: Spintronics at the University of Delaware
U.S. Department of Energy sees powerful potential in spintronics research
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ The more commonly known focus of electronics is on the charge of electrons. This relatively new paradigm focuses on their spin, a quantum property of electrons, which is always oriented in one of two opposite directions — up or down. That gives them great appeal for use in information transmission, matching the current binary system that uses zeros and ones to deliver all manner of data. Learning to control these properties could revolutionize the speed, storage capacity and security of our computer systems, using far less energy to do so.
One critical need is finding a way to keep these electron spin machines working longer than is possible now.
+ Jungfleisch is looking specifically at how magnons connect with microwave photons (light particles), a light-matter interaction that produces quasiparticles called magnon-polaritons. These hybrids have new properties and possibilities. But these properties and behaviors are not well understood. He compares the difference created by this coupling to the change that happens if you take an apple and an orange and make juice. It’s a completely new substance. He also is looking at magnon interactions with phonons (vibrations). Understanding these interactions with photons and phonons is essential to any effort to engineer desirable new materials and devices.
+ The term spintronics refers to the study and control of electrons and the magnetic properties that govern their collective motions, the “spin” that gives them tantalizing potential for quantum computing and communication.
Source: UDAILY. Beth Miller, U.S. Department of Energy sees powerful potential in spintronics research…
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