Silicon Spintronics

Ian Appelbaum
University of Delaware

Monday, April 14, 2008 at 1:00PM

54-134 Engineering IV Building
Refreshments Served

Abstract: Despite Silicons intrinsic advantages for spintronics, even the basic elements of spin transport had not been achieved in this semiconductor until recently.[1] I will discuss the specific challenges associated with spin injection and detection in Silicon (Si), and our unique solution, employing ballistic hot-electron transport through nano-scale ferromagnetic metal polarizers. Using this technique, we have observed unprecedented coherence in spin precession measurements, and extracted very long spin lifetimes of conduction electrons traveling over macroscopic distances.[2] Whereas transistor scaling limits will soon suppress progress in microelectronics using Si, spintronics may secure this semiconductor's dominance for the future.

Biography: Ian Appelbaum obtained his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Ph.D. in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After spending one year as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, he is currently an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Delaware.