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.

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Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

Quantum computers promise to exceed the computational efficiency of ordinary classical machines because quantum algorithms allow the execution of certain tasks in fewer steps. But practical implementation of these machines poses a formidable challenge. Here I present a scheme for implementing a quantum-mechanical computer. Information is encoded onto the nuclear spins of donor atoms in doped silicon electronic devices. Logical operations on individual spins are performed using externally applied electric fields, and spin measurements are made using currents of spin-polarized electrons. The realization of such a computer is dependent on future refinements of conventional silicon electronics.

A silicon-based nuclear spin quantum computer

We demonstrated coherent control of a quantum two-level system based on two-electron spin states in a double quantum dot, allowing state preparation, coherent manipulation, and projective readout. These techniques are based on rapid electrical control of the exchange interaction. Separating and later recombining a singlet spin state provided a measurement of the spin dephasing time, T2*, of E10 nanoseconds, limited by hyperfine interactions with the gallium arsenide host nuclei. Rabi oscillations of two-electron spin states were demonstrated, and spin-echo pulse sequences were used to suppress hyperfine-induced dephasing. Using these quantum control techniques, a coherence time for two-electron spin states exceeding 1 microsecond was observed.

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Coherent manipulation of coupled electron spins in semiconductor quantum dots.

The canonical example of a quantum-mechanical two-level system is spin. The simplest picture of spin is a magnetic moment pointing up or down. The full quantum properties of spin become apparent in phenomena such as superpositions of spin states, entanglement among spins, and quantum measurements. Many of these phenomena have been observed in experiments performed on ensembles of particles with spin. Only in recent years have systems been realized in which individual electrons can be trapped and their quantum properties can be studied, thus avoiding unnecessary ensemble averaging. This review describes experiments performed with quantum dots, which are nanometer-scale boxes defined in a semiconductor host material. Quantum dots can hold a precise but tunable number of electron spins starting with 0, 1, 2, etc. Electrical contacts can be made for charge transport measurements and electrostatic gates can be used for controlling the dot potential. This system provides virtually full control over individual electrons. This new, enabling technology is stimulating research on individual spins. This review describes the physics of spins in quantum dots containing one or two electrons, from an experimentalist’s viewpoint. Various methods for extracting spin properties from experiment are presented, restricted exclusively to electrical measurements. Furthermore, experimental techniques are discussed that allow for 1 the rotation of an electron spin into a superposition of up and down, 2 the measurement of the quantum state of an individual spin, and 3 the control of the interaction between two neighboring spins by the Heisenberg exchange interaction. Finally, the physics of the relevant relaxation and dephasing mechanisms is reviewed and experimental results are compared with theories for spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions. All these subjects are directly relevant for the fields of quantum information processing and spintronics with single spins i.e., single spintronics.

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Spins in few-electron quantum dots

The inverse process of the spin-Hall effect (ISHE), conversion of a spin current into an electric current, was observed at room temperature. A pure spin current was injected into a Pt thin film using spin pumping, and it was observed to generate electromotive force transverse to the spin current. By changing the spin-current polarization direction, the magnitude of this electromotive force varies critically, consistent with the prediction of ISHE.

Conversion of spin current into charge current at room temperature: Inverse spin-Hall effect

1. Elements of Resonance.- 2 Basic Theory.- 3. Magnetic Dipolar Broadening of Rigid Lattices.- 4. Magnetic Interactions of Nuclei with Electrons.- 5. Spin-Lattice Relaxation and Motional Narrowing of Resonance Lines.- 6. Spin Temperature in Magnetism and in Magnetic Resonance.- 7. Double Resonance.- 8. Advanced Concepts in Pulsed Magnetic Resonance.- 9. Multiple Quantum Coherence.- 10. Electric Quadrupole Effects.- 11. Electron Spin Resonance.- 12. Summary.- Problems.- Appendixes.- A. A Theorem About Exponential Operators.- B. Some Further Expressions for the Susceptibility.- D. A Theorem from Perturbation Theory.- E. The High Temperature Approximation.- F. The Effects of Changing the Precession Frequency - Using NMR to Study Rate Phenomena.- G. Diffusion in an Inhomogeneous Magnetic Field.- H. The Equivalence of Three Quantum Mechanics Problems.- I. Powder Patterns.- J. Time-Dependent Hamiltonians.- K. Correction Terms in Average Hamiltonian Theory - The Magnus Expansion.- Selected Bibliography.- References.- Author Index.

Charles P. Slichter

Papers

Principles of magnetic resonance

Principles of magnetic resonance : with examples from solid state physics