Physical Principles of Spintronics

Target group:

• Physics Master's program
• QTEC Master's program
• 2-subject Bachelor's program (subject: Physics) 
• Metrology and Measurement Technology Master's program

Aim of the lecture:

Students will learn concepts for electronic components that utilize not only the electric charge but also the spin of the charge carriers as an additional degree of freedom.

The lecture will cover the physical fundamentals of this highly topical field and also present specific applications. The following topics are planned:

• Electrical transport in non-magnetic and magnetic metals, spin injection and spin transport
• Magnetoresistance effects (AMR, CMR, GMR, spin valves, TMR)
• Magnetic semiconductors (diluted II/VI and III/V semiconductors, transition metal oxides, Rashba effect, spin Hall effect)
• Skyrmionics (B20 structures, surface-induced skyrmions)
• Topological matter (quantum spin Hall effect, topological insulators)
• Antiferromagnetic spintronics (Néel spin-orbit torque, inverse spin galvanic effect)
• Applications (sensors, magnetoresistive read heads, MRAMs, spin transistors, racetrack memories)