2013/09/30 by Jeremy Cardellino, J. Cardellino, Nicolas Scozzaro +13 · 28 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design #Condensed matter physics #Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research #Electron #Ferromagnetism #Physics #Quantum #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Quantum entanglement #Quantum mechanics #Spin (aerodynamics) #Spin Hall effect #Spin diffusion #Spin engineering #Spin polarization #Spin states #Spinplasmonics #Spins #Spintronics #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nnano.2014.39
published in Nature Nanotechnology 9(5), 343-347 (Nature Portfolio) · 7 pages, 2 figures, under consideration at Nature Nanotechnology
arxiv created 2014/01/08 · openalex publication_date 2014/03/21 · arxiv updated 2016/03/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Spin transport electronics - spintronics - focuses on utilizing electron spin as a state variable for quantum and classical information processing and storage. Some insulating materials, such as diamond, offer defect centers whose associated spins are well-isolated from their environment giving them long coherence times; however, spin interactions are important for transport, entanglement, and read-out. Here, we report direct measurement of pure spin transport - free of any charge motion - within a nanoscale quasi 1D 'spin wire', and find a spin diffusion length ~ 700 nm. We exploit the statistical fluctuations of a small number of spins (√(N) < 100 net spins) which are in thermal equilibrium and have no imposed polarization gradient. The spin transport proceeds by means of magnetic dipole interactions that induce flip-flop transitions, a mechanism that can enable highly efficient, even reversible, pure spin currents. To further study the dynamics within the spin wire, we implement a magnetic resonance protocol that improves spatial resolution and provides nanoscale spectroscopic information which confirms the observed spin transport. This spectroscopic tool opens a potential route for spatially encoding spin information in long-lived nuclear spin states. Our measurements probe intrinsic spin dynamics at the nanometre scale, providing detailed insight needed for practical devices which seek to control spin.