Editing Spin transistor

{{Short description|Potential transistor-like device}}
The '''magnetically sensitive transistor,''' also known as the '''spin transistor, spin field-effect transistor''' ('''spinFET'''), '''Datta–Das spin transistor''' or '''spintronic transistor ('''named for [[spintronics]], the technology which this development spawned), originally proposed in 1990 by [[Supriyo Datta]] and Biswajit Das,<ref name="K">{{Cite journal|last1=Datta|first1=Supriyo|author-link=Supriyo Datta|last2=Das|first2=Biswajit|year=1990|title=Electronic analog of the electrooptic modulator|journal=Applied Physics Letters|volume=56|issue=7|pages=665–667|bibcode=1990ApPhL..56..665D|doi=10.1063/1.102730}}</ref> is an alternative design on the common [[transistor]] invented in the 1940s. This device was considered one of the ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' milestones in [[Spin (physics)|spin]] in 2008.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gerstner |first=Ed |date=2008 |title=Information in a spin |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/milespin20 |journal=Nature Physics |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=S18 |doi=10.1038/nphys875 |issn=1745-2481}}</ref> A new all-electric all-semiconductor design was later developed as an alternative approach to realizing spin transistor functionality in a CMOS-compatible platform.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chuang |first1=Pojen |last2=Ho |first2=Sheng-Chin |last3=Smith |first3=L. W. |last4=Sfigakis |first4=F. |last5=Pepper |first5=M. |last6=Chen |first6=Chin-Hung |last7=Fan |first7=Ju-Chun |last8=Griffiths |first8=J. P. |last9=Farrer |first9=I. |last10=Beere |first10=H. E. |last11=Jones |first11=G. A. C. |last12=Ritchie |first12=D. A. |last13=Chen |first13=Tse-Ming |title=All-electric all-semiconductor spin field-effect transistors |journal=Nature Nanotechnology |date=January 2015 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=35–39 |doi=10.1038/nnano.2014.296|arxiv=1506.06507 }}</ref>

== Description ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=February 2011}}
The spin transistor comes about as a result of research on the ability of [[electron]]s (and other [[fermions]]) to naturally exhibit one of two (and only two) states of [[Spin (physics)|spin]]: known as "spin up" and "spin down". Thus, spin transistors operate on electron spin as embodying a [[two-state quantum system]]. Unlike its namesake predecessor, which operates on an [[electric current]], spin transistors operate on electrons on a more fundamental level; it is essentially the application of electrons set in particular states of spin to store information.

One advantage over regular transistors is that these spin states can be detected and altered without necessarily requiring the application of an electric current. This allows for detection hardware (such as [[hard drive]] [[disk read and write heads|heads]]) that are much smaller but even more sensitive than today's devices, which rely on noisy [[amplifier]]s to detect the minute charges used on today's [[data storage device]]s. The potential result is devices that can store more data in less space and consume less power, using less costly materials. The increased sensitivity of spin transistors is also being researched in creating more sensitive automotive sensors, a move being encouraged by a push for environmentally friendlier vehicles.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

A second advantage of a spin transistor is that the spin of an electron is semi-permanent and can be used as means of creating cost-effective non-volatile [[solid state storage]] that does not require the constant application of current to sustain. It is one of the technologies being explored for [[Magnetoresistive RAM|magnetic random access memory]] (MRAM).

Because of its high potential for practical use in the computer world, spin transistors are currently being researched in various firms throughout the world, such as in England and in Sweden. Recent breakthroughs{{when|date=September 2018}} have allowed the production of spin transistors, using readily available substances, that can operate at room temperature: a precursor to commercial viability.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Transistor types]]
[[Category:Spintronics]]