Transitioning the Transistor: A review of spintronic transistor design and recent advancements

Synopsis

Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, but over time this is becoming more difficult to obtain.  Scientists and engineers have been pushing the limits of the common field effect transistor (FET), to keep up with Moore’s Law. If traditional transistor design begins to falter at sizes less than 10 nm, where does one go? Spintronics looks to answer this question by using the intrinsic spin of the electron, its magnetic moment, and its charge to provide an alternative to conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS ) based electronic devices. This presentation will explore the evolution of the transistor, explaining recent breakthroughs in spin transistor development and design and their potential impact on an over 90-billion-dollar industry.