Hybrid spintronic computer chips a step closer to reality

Washington, April 14 (ANI): Hybrid
spintronic computer chips are now
one step closer to reality.
Researchers have developed the first
electronic circuit to merge traditional
inorganic semiconductors with
organic "spintronics".
"Spintronics" are devices that utilize
the spin of electrons to read, write
and manipulate data.
Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, assistant
professor of physics, and his team
combined an inorganic
semiconductor with a unique plastic
material that is under development
in colleague Arthur J. Epstein's lab at
Ohio State University.
Johnston-Halperin, Epstein, and their
colleagues have incorporated the
plastic device into a traditional circuit
based on gallium arsenide.
The researchers have described how
they transmitted a spin-polarized
electrical current from the plastic
material, through the gallium
arsenide, and into a light-emitting
diode (LED) as proof that the organic
and inorganic parts were working
together.
"Hybrid structures promise
functionality that no other materials,
neither organic nor inorganic, can
currently achieve alone," said
Johnston-Halperin.
"We've opened the door to linking
this exciting new material to
traditional electronic devices with
transistor and logic functionality. In
the longer term this work promises
new, chemically based functionality
for spintronic devices," added
Johnston-Halperin.
Normal electronics encode computer
data based on a binary code of ones
and zeros, depending on whether an
electron is present or not within the
material. But researchers have long
known that electrons can be
polarized to orient in particular
directions, like a bar magnet. They
refer to this orientation as spin-either
"spin up" or "spin down"-and this
approach, dubbed spintronics, has
been applied to memory-based
technologies for modern computing.
Spintronic logic would theoretically
require much less power, and
produce much less heat, than current
electronics, while enabling
computers to turn on instantly
without "booting up."
Hybrid and organic devices further
promise computers that are lighter
and more flexible, much as organic
LEDs are now replacing inorganic
LEDs in the production of flexible
displays.
A spintronic semiconductor must be
magnetic, so that the spin of
electrons can be flipped for data
storage and manipulation. Few
typical semiconductors - that is,
inorganic semiconductors - are
magnetic. Of those that are, all
require extreme cold, with operating
temperatures below -150 degrees
Fahrenheit or -100 degrees Celsius.
That's colder than the coldest
outdoor temperature ever recorded
in Antarctica.
"In order to build a practical
spintronic device, you need a
material that is both semiconducting
and magnetic at room temperature.
To my knowledge, Art's organic
materials are the only ones that do
that," said Johnston-Halperin.



BY: ER ABID RASHID.