Researchers from Michigan State University, NIST, and the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have discovered a new way to control and enhance the lossless flow of a current with a single electron spin state in a standard superconducting device. By exposing the device to a magnetic field, they found that a substantially larger spin-polarized supercurrent can be created.
The NIST scientists used Polarized Neutron Reflectivity (PNR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Polarization Analysis (SEMPA) to determine the complex magnetic configuration of the layers in the stack. These measurements revealed that the magnetic field flips most of the magnetic layers to create a more ideal local environment for sustaining the polarized current.
The researchers believe that combining spin polarized supercurrents with spintronics, such as spin transistors and spin filters, will eventually lead to novel applications similar to those generated when superconducting devices were first combined with electronics. This integration has the potential to revolutionize the field of spintronics and lead to significant advancements in electronics and magnetic materials.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2012/05/spin-polarized-supercurrents-optimized-simple-flip
Keywords: spintronics, superconducting, magnetic, polarized, semiconductors
