A Crash Course on Spin Physics

Level: Introductory Length: 4 hours Format: In-Person Lecture Intended Audience: Scientists, engineers, or managers who wish to learn more about spintronics: the basic physics, the state of the art, and possible applications. Description: This course explains basic principles and possible applications of spin physics in semiconductors and metals, a field often referred to as “spintronics.” The course will begin by explaining various spin-related phenomena in atomic and solid state physics. Included here will be a description of optical phenomena such as optical spin orientation and detection methods and hyperfine interactions resulting from nuclear magnetic fields. Spin interactions in two-dimensional semiconductor structures will be studied as well. The course will then explore electrical spin-related effects starting with an overview of spin resonance before investigating the anomalous Hall effect and the spin Hall effect with a focus on phenomenology and microscopic mechanisms before completing with a review of experimental results and implications for applications. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - explain the fundamentals of spin physics in semiconductors and metals - describe the current state of art in this field - recognize possible applications--for example using spin currents for switching magnetic domains in ferromagnets for information storage and processing Instructor(s): Michel I. Dyakonov has contributed to a number of areas of atomic physics, semiconductor physics, and optics. His name is associated with several physical phenomena: the Dyakonov-Perel mechanism of spin relaxation, the Dyakonov-Shur instability in field-effect transistors, and the Dyakonov waves at the interface of anisotropic dielectrics. He has worked at Ioffe Physical-Technical institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since 1998 he has been professor at the University of Montpellier, France, where he is now professor emeritus. He is the recipient of the State Prize of USSR, the Beller Lectureship award of the American Physical Society, and the Felix Robin Prize of the French Physical Society. He is editor of the book “Spin Physics in Semiconductors.” Event: SPIE Optics + Photonics 2017 Course Held: 07 August 2017