Research funded by Intel Corp. and others has led to a spintronic breakthrough that encodes information on the spin of electrons. Look for spintronics to begin replacing traditional electronic devices in four to seven years. R.C.J.
Spintronics encodes bits on the spin of individual electrons—either "up" or "down"—instead of the accumulation of charge, enabling ultra-low-power operation for nonvolatile circuitry that remembers its state even when turned off. The promising new spintronic material category called a dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) until now required manganese doped compound semiconductors such as indium arsenide or gallium arsenide. Now researchers say they have found that germanium quantum dots enable electric field controlled ferromagnetism in a material compatible with conventional CMOS.
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