| Abstract |
Because future logic, storage, sensing and energy harvesting devices will approach the nanoscale where electrons behave as waves, we describe electron transport in such devices in terms of wave propagation and scattering. At present functionalities are based upon the charge of electrons. Manipulating these charges leads to a large amount of energy dissipation that is growing as electronics pervades more aspects of our lives. Another defining property of electrons, their spin, has only recently been shown to have huge promise for reducing the energy consumption of electronic devices. Harnessing the spin of electrons ('spintronics') requires an improved understanding of how spins behave in diverse materials in order to design efficient spintronic devices. We will develop numerically intensive computer codes to simulate spin transport on an atomic scale in a variety of important layered and disordered devices making extensive use of sparse matrix techniques to treat complex structures. |
