QUANtum Transport for Advanced Spintronics: QUANTAS

自旋电子学主要研究和开发电子的自旋自由度，以超越当前基于电荷的微电子学的能力。对耗能技术不断增长的需求导致了对下一代设备的需求，这些设备需要专门定制以实现新功能，同时将功耗降至最低。在这方面，自旋电子器件提供了比当前ICT技术更大的好处，因为纯自旋电流的流动没有相关的充电电流，不会产生焦耳加热，因此最大限度地减少了功耗。自旋信息在多层体系界面上的传输、操纵和转换是自旋电子学研究的关键驱动因素。例如，铁磁/正常金属界面上的自旋输运是由多种因素决定的，包括所涉及的材料和界面的细节，体现在有效的自旋混合电导中。另一方面，过多的界面和体电荷-自旋转换现象是自旋电子器件性能的关键，例如自旋霍尔效应和逆自旋霍尔效应，可以通过施加电场来调节自旋-轨道相互作用或通过改变无序格局来改变；同样，高度依赖于材料和界面性质。事实上，研究紧急自旋输运现象的两个最有前途的系统是在含有高自旋轨道耦合材料的金属异质结构中，如铂和磁性绝缘体中，其中自旋电流是通过自旋波的激发产生和传播的，传播长度可以超过10‘S微米。然而，设计新的自旋电子材料和器件的挑战往往在于对出现的新的和意想不到的现象的理解。这类现象的例子包括：自旋霍尔效应，其中自旋轨道耦合使电荷电流能够转换为自旋电流；以及量子反常霍尔效应，即在没有外部磁场的系统中实现的量子化霍尔效应，预计将呈现无耗散电流传输。在这一领域的研究需要对合成进行纳米级的控制，然后对一种材料的相关性质进行表征。在一个由所有电子操作和信息读出主导的世界中，传输特性仍然是“王”。在本申请中，我们请求为专用量子传输系统提供资金，以使电子传输测量能够在自旋电子学和纳米技术领域的创新实验中进行。低温对于将量子现象与其他效应隔离至关重要，系统的矢量场能力对于探测纳米级自旋电子器件中的量子磁输运效应至关重要，在纳米级自旋电子器件中，单轴场往往是充分理解所涉及的丰富物理的限制因素。该仪器投入使用后，将提供新的能力和容量，方便来自英国大学和工业界的研究人员，并在东北地区提供一个联络点。

Spintronics is primarily concerned with the study and exploitation of the electron's spin degree of freedom in order to exceed the capabilities of current charge based microelectronics. The ever growing demand on energy hungry technologies has led to the need for next generation devices to be specifically tailored to enable new functionality, whilst minimizing power consumption. In this respect, spintronic devices offer significant benefits over current ICT technologies as the flow of a pure spin current, without the associated charge current, produces no Joule heating and therefore minimizes power consumption. The transport, manipulation and conversion of spin information across interfaces in multilayer systems are key drivers in spintronics research. For example, spin transport across a ferromagnet /normal metal interface is determined by a combination of factors including the materials involved and details of the interface, embodied within the effective spin-mixing conductance. On the other hand, the plethora of interfacial and bulk charge-spin conversion phenomena that are key to the performance of spintronic devices, such as the spin Hall and inverse spin Hall effect, can be modified by tuning the spin-orbit interaction via the application of electric fields or by modifying the disorder landscape; again, highly dependent on material and interfacial properties.In fact, two of the most promising systems to study emergent spin transport phenomena are in metallic heterostructures containing a high spin-orbit coupling material such as Pt and in magnetic insulators where the spin current is generated and propagated by the excitation of spinwaves, and propagation lengths can exceed 10's of microns. However, the challenge of designing new spintronic materials and devices often lies in the understanding of novel and unexpected phenomena that emerge. Examples of such phenomena include; the spin Hall effect, in which spin - orbit coupling enables the conversion of a charge current to a spin current; and the quantum anomalous Hall effect, a quantized Hall effect realized in systems without an external magnetic field and predicted to exhibit dissipationless current transport. Research in this area requires nanoscale control of synthesis followed by the relevant characterization of a materials properties. In a world dominated by all electrical manipulation and readout of information, transport properties are still "King".In this application we request funding for a dedicated quantum transport system to enable electrical transport measurements to be carried out for innovative experiments in the fields of spintronics and nanotechnology. The low temperature, vital for allowing quantum phenomena to be isolated from other effects, and vector field capability of the system is essential for probing quantum magnetotransport effects in nanoscale spintronic devices where often single axis fields are a limiting factor for a full understanding of the rich physics involved. The instrument, when commissioned, will provide new capability and capacity, ease of access for researchers from UK universities and industry and provide a focal point in the North East region.