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The recent successes of superconducting qubits and the demonstration of quantum supremacy over classical bits herald a new era for information processing. Yet, the field is still in its infancy and there exist viable alternative candidates that can also store quantum information. In this review, we will highlight ideas, attempts, and the experimental progress to address nuclear spins in graphene, a readily available Dirac semimetal that consists of a single layer of carbon atoms. Carbon isotopes with a nuclear spin are rare in natural graphene. However, it is possible to enrich the spin-bearing 13C isotopes to produce large-scale graphene sheets, which constitute the testbed to store, transport, and retrieve spin information, or to engineer nanostructures. Here, the hyperfine interaction between the electron spins and the nuclear spins serves as an experimental control knob and mediator to address nuclear polarization and nuclear spin coherence times through electrical measurements. The exploitation of nuclear spins in graphene is thus an alluring perspective. We will discuss methods to synthesize 13C graphene and show experimental approaches and challenges to exploit the relatively weak hyperfine interaction in two-dimensional 13C graphene devices. The ultimate purpose, i.e., the exploitation of nuclear spins in graphene for information processing, is not within reach, but its potential for future applications merits a revisit of the current state-of-the-art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of perpendicular effective magnetic field or perpendicular spins (σz) is central for the development of energy-efficient, scalable, and external-magnetic-field-free spintronic memory and computing technologies. Here, we report the first identification and the profound impacts of a significant effective perpendicular magnetic field that can arise from asymmetric current spreading within magnetic microstrips and Hall bars. This effective perpendicular magnetic field can exhibit all the three characteristics that have been widely assumed in the literature to "signify" the presence of a flow of σz, i.e., external-magnetic-field-free current switching of uniform perpendicular magnetization, a sin 2φ-dependent contribution in spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance signal of in-plane magnetization (φ is the angle of the external magnetic field with respect to the current), and a φ-independent but field-dependent contribution in the second harmonic Hall voltage of in-plane magnetization. This finding suggests that it is critical to include current spreading effects in the analyses of various spin polarizations and spin–orbit torques in the magnetic heterostructure. Technologically, our results provide a perpendicular effective magnetic field induced by asymmetric current spreading as a novel, universally accessible mechanism for efficient, scalable, and external-magnetic-field-free magnetization switching in memory and computing technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics is an emerging field, with significant advances in particular in the study of the tunable spin generation, transport, manipulation, and detection based on the control and probe of AFM moments. The Néel-vector-dependent spin current generation in AFM materials makes them an efficient and controllable spin source, paving the way for future spintronic devices with ultralow power consumption and high operability. Herein, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of recent progress in charge-spin conversion mediated by AFMs. First, we present a brief summary of several typical characterization techniques of charge-spin conversion. Then, we focus on the recent efforts for improving the charge-spin conversion efficiency and performances of spin torques in the antiferromagnet/ferromagnet bilayer. In the third part, we review the controllable spin current and multidirectional spin polarization generated by AFMs and the resultant field-free magnetization switching. Finally, we discuss the prospects of the AFM spin sources, which will inspire more in-depth studies and advance practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest in two-dimensional and layered materials continues to expand, driven by the compelling properties of individual atomic layers that can be stacked and/or twisted into synthetic heterostructures. The plethora of electronic properties as well as the emergence of many different quasiparticles, including plasmons, polaritons, trions, and excitons with large, tunable binding energies that all can be controlled and modulated through electrical means, has given rise to many device applications. In addition, these materials exhibit both room-temperature spin and valley polarization, magnetism, superconductivity, piezoelectricity that are intricately dependent on the composition, crystal structure, stacking, twist angle, layer number, and phases of these materials. Initial results on graphene exfoliated from single bulk crystals motivated the development of wide-area, high purity synthesis and heterojunctions with atomically clean interfaces. Now by opening this design space to new synthetic two-dimensional materials "beyond graphene," it is possible to explore uncharted opportunities in designing novel heterostructures for electrically tunable devices. To fully reveal the emerging functionalities and opportunities of these atomically thin materials in practical applications, this review highlights several representative and noteworthy research directions in the use of electrical means to tune these aforementioned physical and structural properties, with an emphasis on discussing major applications of beyond graphene 2D materials in tunable devices in recent years and an outlook of what is to come in the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Moore's law is gradually losing its effectiveness, the development of alternative high-speed and low-energy–consuming information technology with postsilicon-advanced materials is urgently needed. The successful application of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) has given rise to a tremendous economic impact on magnetic informatics, including magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), radiofrequency sensors, microwave generators, and neuromorphic computing networks. The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials brings opportunities for MTJs based on 2D materials, which have many attractive characteristics and advantages. In particular, the recently discovered intrinsic 2D ferromagnetic materials with high spin polarization hold the promise for next-generation nanoscale MTJs. Various 2D materials, such as semimetallic graphene, insulating h-BN, semiconducting MoS2, magnetic semiconducting CrI3, magnetic metallic Fe3GeTe2, and some other recently emerged 2D materials, are discussed as the electrodes and/or central scattering materials of MTJs in this review. We discuss the fundamental and main issues facing MTJs; review the current progress made with 2D MTJs; briefly comment on work with some specific 2D materials and highlight how they address the current challenges in MTJs; and, finally, offer an outlook and perspective of 2D MTJs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiferromagnetic materials are expected to trigger the revolution of spintronic applications because they are robust against the perturbation of magnetic fields, produce no stray fields, and display ultrafast dynamics. To design antiferromagnetic devices, the generation and manipulation of spin-polarized current in antiferromagnetic materials are vital. Unfortunately, it has long been believed that spin-polarized current could not be achieved in collinear antiferromagnetic materials because of the symmetry of spin sublattices. Inspired by the possibility of breaking the symmetry using a bias voltage, a special Au/NiO/Au junction is proposed and constructed along the [111] direction of NiO using the collinear NiO antiferromagnetic insulator as a prototype. It was found that the symmetry of spin sublattices was broken by an external bias, which induces a nonequivalent transport for spin-up and spin-down currents, that is, the appearance of spin-polarized current. Unexpectedly, this study found that the magnitude and sign of spin polarization could be adjusted by varying the bias. A positive spin polarization up to 80% was obtained at ∼ 0.9 V, and the spin polarization turned negative when the bias voltage was beyond 1.6 V. The related physical mechanisms were explored and clarified by analyzing spin-resolved transmission, kǁ-resolved density of states, and layer-resolved local density of states of Au/NiO/Au, etc. The effects of NiO layer thicknesses, different electrodes, and interfacial disorders on the spin polarization were also analyzed and found to offer promising applications. This study provides new physical insight into spin-polarized current transport in collinear antiferromagnetic materials and greatly contributes to the development of novel antiferromagnetic spintronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs), the new generation of spintronic materials, have received increasing attention recently owing to their various attractive properties such as fully spin-polarization and high carrier mobility. Based on their unique band structures, SGSs can be divided into two types: parabolic and Dirac-like linear. The linear-type SGSs, also called Dirac SGSs (DSGSs), have real massless fermions and dissipation-less transport properties, and thus are regarded as promising material candidates for applications in ultra-fast and ultra-low-power spintronic devices. DSGSs can be further classified into p-state type or d-state type depending on the degree of contribution of either the p-orbitals or d-orbitals to the Dirac states. Considering the importance of the research field and to cover its fast development, we reviewed the advances in DSGSs and proposed our own viewpoints. First, we introduced the computational algorithms of SGSs. Second, we found that the boundaries between DSGSs and Dirac half-metals were frequently blurred. Therefore, a simple classification is proposed in this work. Third, we collected almost all the studies on DSGSs published in the past six years. Finally, we proposed new guidance to search for DSGSs among 3D bulk materials on the basis of our latest results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Half-metallic ferromagnetic (HMF) materials show high spin polarization and are therefore interesting to researchers due to their possible applications in spintronic devices. In these materials, while one spin sub band has a finite density of states at the Fermi level, the other sub band has a gap. Because of their high Curie temperature (TC) and tunable electronic structure, HMF Heusler alloys have a special importance among the HMF materials. Full Heusler alloys with the stoichiometric composition X2YZ (where X and Y are the transition metals and Z is a sp element) have the cubic L21 structure with four interpenetrating fcc sublattices. When each of these four fcc sublattices is occupied by different atoms (XX0YZ), a quaternary Heusler structure with different structural symmetries (space group F-43m, #216) is obtained. Recently, these equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloys (EQHAs) with 1:1:1:1 stoichiometry have attracted a lot of attention due to their superior magnetic and transport properties. A special class of HMF materials identified recently is known as spin gapless semiconductors (SGS). The difference in this case, compared with HMFs, is that the density of states for one spin band is just zero at the Fermi level, while the other has a gap as in the case of HMFs. Some of the reported SGS materials belong to EQHAs family. This review is dedicated to almost all reported materials belonging to EQHAs family. The electronic structure and hence the physical properties of Heusler alloys strongly depend on the degree of structural order and distribution of the atoms in the crystal lattice. A variety of experimental techniques has been used to probe the structural parameters and degree of order in these alloys. Their magnetic properties have been investigated using the conventional methods, while the spin polarization has been probed by point contact Andreev reflection technique. The experimentally obtained values of saturation magnetization are found to be in agreement with those estimated using the Slater-Pauling rule in most of the cases. Electrical resistivity and Hall measurements are being used to distinguish between SGS and HMF nature in detail. The current spin polarization value, P=0.70±0.01, for CoFeMnGe is found to be highest among the EQHAs. CoFeMnSi and CoFeCrGa are found to show SGS behavior with high Curie temperatures, thus making them suitable substitutes for diluted magnetic semiconductors. CoRuFeSi is found to have the highest TC among EQHAs. Theoretical prediction of magnetic properties on the basis of electronic structure calculations has also been reported in a few systems, which are also discussed in this review. Thus, this review presents a consolidated picture of the magnetic and spintronic properties of this important, but relatively new class of Heusler alloys. It is expected that this will stimulate further interest in these alloys, thereby paving the way for the identification of more HMF and SGS materials. As a result of this, it is expected that more efficient spintronic devices using these alloys would emerge in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]