vi
Preface
within a single integrated platform, spintronics can complement and, in some cases,
outperform semiconductor-based electronics. Indeed, the seamless integration of
these functions can bring enormous benefits in terms of scaling, power consumption
and data processing speed of integrated circuits. The first application of spintronics in
the realm of information processing was spin valves sensors, which are, for example,
used in hard disk drive read heads and later in magnetic random-access memories
(MRAMs).
It is also to be noted that we are in the era of daily explosions in the development of
spintronic components for computing and other applications. The business of spintronics is booming worldwide. The field of spintronics is progressing rapidly and
shows many dramatic opportunities for overcoming the limitations of electronics.
The techniques of computing with electron spin may provide a way out of the limitations of computational speed and complexity inherent in charge-based electronic
computing. The rapid development of femtomagnetism, nano-photonics, nonlinear
optics and plasmonics has also enriched the field of spintronics and has opened up
a new paradigm of computing and information processing. With inter-disciplinary
researches into spintronics new concepts are coming up. The scope of works in this
field has widened to cover a vast expanse—from micrometre to nanometre scales and
from classical to quantum. This has brightened its future prospects of spintronics.
Hence, a fundamental knowledge of spintronics is essential for the up-gradation and
development of existing technology. Almost each and every month, new research
findings are coming out in the field of spintronics. Therefore, the idea of different
basic phenomena associated with spintronics that plays the pivotal role has been
discussed in detail in this book. Some of the present and future applications that are
based on spintronic devices are also discussed in this book. It is expected that this
book will serve two important purposes:
1. To formally introduce senior-level undergraduate and graduate science and
engineering students to emerging field of spintronics.
2. This book aims to provide the necessary foundation in spintronics which
prepares the students for an intensive study of advanced topics at later stage.
Organization of the Book
The contents of this book are divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 is the overview
of spintronics. Chapters 2–6 are fundamentals of spintronics and should be treated
as essential. Chapters 7–9 are little bit advanced, and Chap. 10 discusses the various
present and future application aspect of spintronics. Although there are many more
applications which are not included in this book, we feel we have covered the most
important ones.
• Chapter 1 gives the overview and evolution of spintronics. It discusses the relative
merits and demerits of spintronics over conventional electronics. Spin-dependent
Preface
within a single integrated platform, spintronics can complement and, in some cases,
outperform semiconductor-based electronics. Indeed, the seamless integration of
these functions can bring enormous benefits in terms of scaling, power consumption
and data processing speed of integrated circuits. The first application of spintronics in
the realm of information processing was spin valves sensors, which are, for example,
used in hard disk drive read heads and later in magnetic random-access memories
(MRAMs).
It is also to be noted that we are in the era of daily explosions in the development of
spintronic components for computing and other applications. The business of spintronics is booming worldwide. The field of spintronics is progressing rapidly and
shows many dramatic opportunities for overcoming the limitations of electronics.
The techniques of computing with electron spin may provide a way out of the limitations of computational speed and complexity inherent in charge-based electronic
computing. The rapid development of femtomagnetism, nano-photonics, nonlinear
optics and plasmonics has also enriched the field of spintronics and has opened up
a new paradigm of computing and information processing. With inter-disciplinary
researches into spintronics new concepts are coming up. The scope of works in this
field has widened to cover a vast expanse—from micrometre to nanometre scales and
from classical to quantum. This has brightened its future prospects of spintronics.
Hence, a fundamental knowledge of spintronics is essential for the up-gradation and
development of existing technology. Almost each and every month, new research
findings are coming out in the field of spintronics. Therefore, the idea of different
basic phenomena associated with spintronics that plays the pivotal role has been
discussed in detail in this book. Some of the present and future applications that are
based on spintronic devices are also discussed in this book. It is expected that this
book will serve two important purposes:
1. To formally introduce senior-level undergraduate and graduate science and
engineering students to emerging field of spintronics.
2. This book aims to provide the necessary foundation in spintronics which
prepares the students for an intensive study of advanced topics at later stage.
Organization of the Book
The contents of this book are divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 is the overview
of spintronics. Chapters 2–6 are fundamentals of spintronics and should be treated
as essential. Chapters 7–9 are little bit advanced, and Chap. 10 discusses the various
present and future application aspect of spintronics. Although there are many more
applications which are not included in this book, we feel we have covered the most
important ones.
• Chapter 1 gives the overview and evolution of spintronics. It discusses the relative
merits and demerits of spintronics over conventional electronics. Spin-dependent