Spintronics Essay

1283 Words3 Pages

Background research Throughout the past century, investigations of quantum and particle physics phenomena have proven to show the most significant concepts and ideas in the physical and sub-atomic world. However, the discoveries yet to be made are endless. One of the most fascinating concepts in the sub-atomic universe is the idea of spintronics. Spintronics is the quantum study of the independent angular momentum (not to be confused with the orbital angular momentum of the electron) of a particle, typically that of an electron (Introduction). An electron is a fundamental particle, with a negative charge, and is independently studied in the process of spintronic devices. The spin angular momentum of electrons is ±½ћ. Devices that use the properties …show more content…

The blue gate acts as a polarizer. Courtesy of Olympus Microscopy Resource Center.
Although the electron polarization does not affect the spintronics of the electron, it does affect the frequency of the electrons and its wave characteristics. For the electrons that refract through the barrier, they go through a process known as quantum tunneling. Due to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, a wave function and Schrodinger’s equation can estimate the electron path, but instead, knowing it models the path of exponential decay, its current position is predictable with the following equation (Quantum tunneling), (Spintronics):
∫_y^x▒[x,y]
This integration represents the probability of finding the polarized electron within the given domain [x, y], whole inclusive. If the electron does not have enough energy to pass over the wave, due to its incredibly needy potential energy, the electron has a probability of ending up on the other side, and this is known as quantum tunneling (Quantum tunneling). If the barrier happens to be too wide for the electron, then the electron will continue to ‘tunnel’ until it reaches a stop at its point, or when it “loses its

More about Spintronics Essay

Open Document