Convincing a magnetic semiconductor to work at room temperature

Abstract

Physics 1, 43 (2008) DOI: 10.1103/Physics.1.43 Convincing a magnetic semiconductor to work at room temperature Charles Gould and Laurens W. Molenkamp Physikalisches Institut (EP3), Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany Published December 22, 2008 In the design of spintronic devices, magnetic semiconductors have the potential to be an “all in one material,” but they are usually ferromagnetic only at low temperatures. However, by growing an iron layer on top of a magnetic semiconductor it is possible to induce room-temperature ferromagnetism in a thin layer near the interface. A Viewpoint on: Evidence for a Magnetic Proximity Effect up to Room Temperature at Fe/(Ga,Mn)As Interfaces F. Maccherozzi, M. Sperl, G. Panaccione, J. Minár, S. Polesya, H. Ebert, U. Wurstbauer, M. Hochstrasser, G. Rossi, G. Woltersdorf, W. Wegscheider, and C. H. Back Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 267201 (2008) - Published December 22, 2008 Download PDF (free) Magnetoelectronics—electronics that make use of the magnetic (spin) property of the charge carriers—has revolutionized the information storage industry over the past two decades. However, in doing so it has also created a new bottleneck in the process of handling information. Storage is done in metal-based magnetic devices, whereas information processing is optimally realized using semiconductor devices [1]. The exchange of information between these two segregated systems is both energy and time consuming. Significant gain would be achieved if storage and processing could be brought together on a single chip. Semiconductor spintronics is the extension of magnetoelectronics to the realm of magnetic semiconductors. It combines all properties needed for both storage and processing of information in one material, and therefore is a promising solution to the component segregation issue. It would not be unexpected if it also led to fundamentally new information-processing paradigms.