Spinplasmonics is a nanotechnology field that combines spintronics and plasmonics. Professor Abdulhakem Elezzabi of the University of Alberta in Canada pioneered the field. Light waves couple to electron spin states in a metallic structure in a simple spinplasmonic device. The most basic spinplasmonic device is a bilayer structure composed of magnetic and nonmagnetic metals. The electron spin phenomenon is caused by the nanometer scale interface between such metals.
Spinplasmonics is a relatively new field of study that investigates the interaction of plasmonic excitations with spin-dependent phenomena such as spin waves and magnetic materials. Plasmons are collective oscillations of electrons excited by light in a metal or semiconductor nanostructure, whereas spin waves are propagating disturbances of spin orientation in magnetic materials.
The interaction of plasmons and spin waves can produce novel physical phenomena such as spin-dependent plasmon amplification, the spin-Hall effect, and magnetic field enhancement of plasmon resonances. Spinplasmonics has applications in magneto-optical sensing, information storage and processing, and spin-based nanophotonics.
A weak magnetic field is used to manipulate the properties of the plasmonic current, which is generated by optical excitation. Electrons with a specific spin state can pass through the interfacial barrier, but electrons with a different spin state cannot. Essentially, switching operations are performed with the electrons spin and then sent out as a light signal.
Spinplasmonic devices could benefit from high speed, miniaturization, low power consumption, and multifunctionality. The interaction between atomic spins realigns the magnetic moments on a length scale smaller than the size of a single magnetic domain. Smaller spinplasmonics devices, as opposed to semiconductor-based devices, are expected to be more efficient at transporting spin-polarized electron current.
Recent advances in nanofabrication techniques have enabled the creation of complex nanostructures with designed magnetic and plasmonic properties, which have greatly expanded the possibilities for exploring spinplasmonic phenomena. Spinplasmonics is an active area of research, and its potential for developing new technologies and understanding fundamental physics makes it an exciting field to watch.
