Topical Issue on New Trends in Spin Transfer Physics

摘要

Magnetic materials and devices have played a major role in science and technology for the last half century. Hard disk drives dominate information storage and magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is emerging in the memory market. Present magnetic devices are complex metal hetero-structures that combine many layers and state-ofthe- art lithography. The basic functionality results from spin-dependent scattering of polarized currents by magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic spacer layer. The phenomenon is known as giant magneto-resistance (GMR) for metal interlayers or tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) for insulating spacer layers. The application of GMR in devices has sparked research in the broader field of spintronics, which relies on manipulating the spin rather than the charge of the electron via spin injection, manipulation and detection. Its discovers were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2007 (P. Grunberg and A. Fert).