Spintronic Devices Based on Topological Insulators

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Yoichi Ando
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2018 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 398945897

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

The surface states of topological insulators (TIs) are peculiar in that electrical currents directly induce spin polarization whose direction is perpendicularly locked to the current direction. This makes TIs a promising platform for spintronic applications. This project focuses on fabrication and characterization of spintronic devices aimed at testing/demonstrating spintronic functions of TIs. During the funding period, this project succeeded in realizing the “Spin Transistor” operation to demonstrate the control of the current-induced spins via electrostatic gating on a TI flake. Through this proof-of-principle of a new functionality, this project has significantly widened the potential of TIs for spintronic applications.

Publications

• Opportunities in topological insulator devices. Nature Reviews Physics, 4(3), 184-193.
  Breunig, Oliver & Ando, Yoichi
  
• Topological-Insulator Spin Transistor. Physical Review Applied, 20(2).
  Dang, Linh T.; Breunig, Oliver; Wang, Zhiwei; Legg, Henry F. & Ando, Yoichi