Spin Engineering in Flexible and Functional Two-Dimensional Quantum Material Devices

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Can spin integrated circuits (Spin-ICs) with low power-high speed processing capabilities be realized? What are the key ingredients necessary to catapult present-day spintronics to make such a leap? The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) quantum crystals provides new impetus for exploring ambitious ultralow-power and ultrafast speed prospects of spintronics and nanomagnetism. Atomically thin 2D quantum materials like graphene have created novel possibilities for pure spin current communication, functionalities, and controlling spin phenomena, for inventing entirely new kind of spin components, that could pave the way for spin ICs. SPINNER aims to unleash these prospects leveraging the PI’s pioneering leadership and recent innovations in flexible graphene spin circuits, breakthrough longest spin communication in graphene, and precision characterization of 2D magnetic crystals, aiming for three highly ambitious objectives: (1) Achieving strain control of spin currents and spin Hamiltonian in 2D materials. (2) Enabling field-free pure spin current torque functionalities in graphene spin circuits. (3) Controlling ultrafast spin currents at 2D spinterfaces. The proposed new experiments in SPINNER build upon the PI’s expertise in state-of-the-art spin and charge transport, µ-Hall magnetometry, advanced nanofabrication, and device engineering, augmented with new strengths in magneto-optic Kerr effect and ultrafast spin dynamics experiments. Designed for unprecedented engineering of spin materials and devices, the success of SPINNER will reveal new performance, low-power spin functions, determining the ultimate efficiency and speed of pure spin-current operations for Spin-ICs, leading to multiple new scientific and technological breakthroughs. Realizing SPINNER will make a significant impact on 2D quantum materials, flexible nanoelectronics, nanomagnetism and spintronics, and device physics, proving its high multidisciplinary worth.