Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and\nmanipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article\nreviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and\nwell-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles\nunderlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and\nspin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs\nfrom charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to\nspin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin\ndecoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin\ninjection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures\nrelevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties.\nExperimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in\nwhich external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be\nused to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not\nfeasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.\n