Nanosensors and Spintronics

This subject provides the introduction into the field of spintronics, i.e. electronics that uses the spin of the electron as the information carrier. The subject covers the main branches of this field. It starts with the basics of relativistic quantum mechanics and spin angular momentum, which are the basic tools for the physics of electron spins. Spin current and its flow and generation in nanostructures is also covered. Furthermore, important magnetoresistance effects (AMR, GMR, TMR) are discussed along with the spin transfer torque on the magnetization. Other spintronic effects such as spin Hall effect, Rashba effect and spintronics of semiconductors conclude the subject.