Magnetic semiconductor opens up silicon-based spintronics

The researchers from North Carolina State University synthesised the new compound, strontium tin oxide (Sr₃SnO), as an epitaxial thin film on a silicon chip. Because Sr₃SnO is a dilute magnetic semiconductor (a material exhibiting ferromagnetism and semiconductor properties), it could be used to create transistors that operate at room temperature based on magnetic fields.

‘We’re talking about cool transistors for use in spintronics,’ said Dr. Jay Narayan, John C. Fan Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper describing the work. ‘Spintronics’ refers to technologies used in solid-state devices that take advantage of the inherent ‘spin’ in electrons and their related magnetic momentum.

‘There are other materials that are dilute magnetic semiconductors, but researchers have struggled to integrate those materials on a silicon substrate, which is essential for their use in multifunctional, smart devices,’ Narayan said in a statement. ‘We were able to synthesise this material as a single crystal on a silicon chip.’