March 27, 2018
Keio University
A research group at Keio University, led by Project Assistant Professor Hiroyasu Nakayama and Associate Professor Kazuya Ando of the Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, has revealed a new principle for controlling the function of spintronics devices using organic molecules. The research was conducted in collaboration with a group from the Department of Chemistry at the same faculty, which included Senior Assistant Professor Takashi Yamamoto and Professor Yasuaki Einaga.
In addition to electric current, which is the flow of the electrical property (charge) of electrons, spintronics technology, which utilizes the magnetic property (spin) of electrons, has led to dramatic improvements in the performance of electronic devices. The unique functions of spintronics technology are carried by the flow of electron spins, known as "spin current." Recently, methods using spin-orbit interaction for the conversion between electric current and spin current have been attracting attention in the pursuit of even faster and more energy-efficient devices. Previous research has established methods for externally controlling the strength of spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor devices, and various functionalities enabled by this have been proposed. However, it was known to be extremely difficult to control the spin-orbit interaction in metal-based spintronics devices.
In this study, the research group has demonstrated that it is possible to control the spin-orbit interaction in metal spintronics devices and improve the conversion efficiency between electric current and spin current through an unprecedented approach using organic molecules. Furthermore, by using organic molecules that change their structure upon light irradiation, they have achieved optical control of spintronics devices.
The results of this research were published in the American scientific journal Science Advances on March 23, 2018 (local time).
For the full press release, please see below.