Discovery by UC Riverside physicists could enable development of faster computers
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Sketch of a ferromagnet/semiconductor structure. When the MgO interface is very thin, spin up electrons, represented in this image with an arrow to the right, are reflected back to the semiconductor. At an intermediate thickness of the interface, spin down electrons are reflected back to the semiconductor, resulting in a "spin reversal" that can be used to control current flow. Credit: Kawakami lab, UC Riverside.
Physicists at UC Riverside have made an accidental discovery in the lab that has potential to change how information in computers can be transported or stored. Dependent on the "spin" of electrons, a property electrons possess that makes them behave like tiny magnets, the discovery could help in the development of spin-based semiconductor technology such as ultrahigh-speed computers.
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