Ferroelectric Control of Spin Polarization

Abstract

Spin into Control Spintronics—the use of the spin direction of subatomic particles to control on and off states, instead of electric charge—has the potential to create low-power electronics, because less energy is needed to flip spin states than to flip switches to create voltage barriers. Theoretical work hints that spin-polarized electrons from a ferromagnetic electrode can be controlled by a change in polarization created in a ferroelectric thin film. Garcia et al. (p. 1106 , published online 14 January) fabricated an iron-barium titanate junction on a lanthanum strontium manganate substrate that acts as a spin detector. Local control of spin polarization was observed in the ferroelectric layer, which retained its polarization without any applied power.