TITLE:

SPINTRONICS

DATE:

Friday, November 19th, 2010

TIME:

3:30 PM

LOCATION:

GMCS 214

SPEAKER:

Antonio Palacios, Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Group, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University

ABSTRACT:

The 2007 Nobel prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg for their discovery of the Giant Magnetoresistance Effect (GMR). This effect is observed as a significant change in the electrical resistance of some materials. Their discovery has lead to “spintronics”, the emerging science that seeks to exploit the intrinsic spin of the electron. Spintronic devices work on the quantum mechanical effects of electrons having two-state spins, “up” or “down”. The most common application is the spin nano-valve device, which has already lead to new read-and-write heads, MRAM memories, magnetic sensors, and reprogrammable logic devices. Recently, Prof. Fert proposed a mechanism for the GMR effect to be used in a nano-scale microwave signal generator, but such mechanism has to be studied first through the field of nonlinear dynamics–he claimed. In this talk, we discuss a joint Caltech-SPAWAR-SDSU effort to study, design, and fabricate the first nano-scale microwave signal generator.

HOST:

Ricardo Carretero

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