Discovery unveils black phosphorus’s potential for innovative spintronics

Barbaros Group has announced a significant discovery in the field of spintronics – a fast-growing approach to power efficiency that could revolutionise the development of low-power electronic devices. The research collaboration between groups led by Assistant Professor Ahmet Avsar and Professor Barbaros Özyilmaz (both from Materials Science and Engineering) delves into the unique properties of an ultrathin, two-dimensional material called black phosphorus and how it transports spinning electrons.

The team’s findings were published recently in the journal Nature Materials.

Unlike traditional electronics, which rely on the movement of electrical charge, spintronics utilises the intrinsic spin of electrons to create more energy-efficient devices.

Electrons have a spin state of “up” or “down” causing the electrons to act like tiny magnets and manipulating this state has been seen by researchers as crucial for achieving lower power operation in electronic devices. This is because the spin motion of electrons inherently dissipates far less heat than the movement of electrical charge used in traditional electronics.