Spintronics, an emerging field of technology, exploits the spin of electrons rather than their charge to process and store information. Spintronics could lead to faster, more power-efficient computers and memory devices. However, most spintronic systems require magnetic fields to control spin, which is challenging in ultracompact device integration due to unwanted interference between components. This new research provides a way to overcome this limitation.
As published in Materials Horizons, a research team led by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has introduced a novel method to control electron spin using only an electric field. This could pave the way for the future development of ultra-compact, energy-efficient spintronic devices.
Their findings demonstrate how an emerging type of magnetic material, an altermagnetic bilayer, can host a novel mechanism called layer-spin locking, thus enabling all-electrical manipulation of spin currents at room temperature.
