Abstract

More than half a century after its discovery, a basic quantum mechanical property of the electron, namely its spin, is on the verge of creating a revolution in electronics. The use of electron spin in electrical transport has already led to many fascinating phenomena and continues to produce new ones. The field, now called spintronics, combines magnetic, electric, optical and thermal effects in a wide variety of materials. Most recent is the integration of magnetism and mainstream semiconductors, which could impact information technology in ways beyond imagination. This will be the topic of this colloquium. It starts at a basic level with the generic principles of spin-transport and magnetoresistance in metal-based structures. Then we’ll discuss the remarkable progress made in recent years with spins in semiconductors, focusing on the implementation of spin-based electronic functionality in silicon devices and the associated challenges.