Overview

Led by ICREA Prof. Sergio O. Valenzuela, the Physics and Engineering of nanoelectronic devices group focuses on the development of novel devices, primarily spintronics, specifically designed to gain insight into physical properties of materials at the nanoscale, combining state of the art lithographic and chemical methods with magnetic and electrical transport characterisation.

To view the Group´s personalised website, please follow this link: Physics and Engineering of Nanodevices

Background

The Group’s research is currently centred on spintronic devices. Spintronics introduces the spin degree of freedom into device design and has been predicted to enable a revolutionary class of electronics with functionalities exceeding current semiconductor technology. Conventional electronic devices are based on charge carriers and their associated energy, which limits their speed due to energy dissipation. Spintronics, which is based on spin orientation and spin coupling, promises much higher speeds, low power demands, non-volatility and higher integration densities. Current developments in the group focus on the use of electron and nuclear spins in novel metallic and semiconducting devices, which ultimately will employ quantum coherent control. Besides computation, there are abundant applications for controlled spin and magnetic dynamics, including biomedical instrumentation, including magnetic resonance techniques, sensors and imaging.