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Research
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Over the past 30 years, the integrated circuit (IC) and information storage industries have
experienced a tremendous evolution, creating faster and cheaper devices with more functionality.
While researchers in these industries have succeeded in scaling devices far further than originally
imagined possible, future miniaturization faces major obstacles due to factors such as quantum
effects, the patterning of nanometer scale features, and the superparamagnetism limit. In light of
these challenges, the researchers in these fields have uncovered the possibility of combining their
knowledge bases together to form a field known as spin electronics, or spintronics. Unlike
traditional IC’s in which signals are determined by the charge of electrons, spintronic devices
utilize both the spin and the charge of electrons for increased functionality. Potential benefits of
using spin currents include increased speed of devices and decreased power consumption. The
focus of this research program is the use of non-equilibrium thin film growth techniques to
develop new materials for spintronic applications and to perform detailed characterization to
understand the correlation between the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of these
materials.Full Research Statement (PDF)
College of Engineering Profile |
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