July 25, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread by Lisa Potter, University of Utah Traditional electronics use semiconductors to transmit data through bursts of charged carriers (electrons or holes) to convey messages in "1s" and "0s." Spintronic devices can process an order of magnitude more information by assigning binary code to the orientation of electrons' magnetic poles, a property known as spin— an "up" spin is a 1, a "down" is a 0.
A major barrier to commercial spintronics is setting and maintaining the electron spin orientation. Most devices tune spin-orientation using ferromagnets and magnetic fields, a burdensome and unreliable process. Decades of research has shown that carriers lose their spin orientation moving from materials with high-conductivity to low-conductivity—for example, from metallic ferromagnets to undoped silicon and conjugated polymer materials that make up most modern semiconductors.
For the first time, scientists transformed existing optoelectronic devices into ones that can control electron spin at room temperature, without a ferromagnet or magnetic field. Most optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs, only control charge and light but not the spin of the electrons. In the new study led by the University of Utah physicists and researchers .