Editor's Summary
27 March 2008
Spinning into control
Carbon-based materials are seen as promising candidates for applications such as spintronics and as spin qubits, as their electron spins are thought to be exceptionally stable. In particular, it was assumed that the effect of electron spin coupling to its orbital motion — a source for spin decoherence — is negligible. Kuemmeth et al. have now disproved this assumption. Based on a detailed set of electronic transport measurements on high-quality, clean, single-walled carbon nanotubes, they observe direct signatures of electron spin–orbit coupling. The findings may lead to new design principles for the realization of qubits in nanotubes. And the observed spin–orbit coupling may prove to be a valuable tool as a mechanism for all-electrical control of spins in carbon nanotubes.
News and Views: Nanoelectronics: Spin surprise in carbon
Spintronics is an emerging branch of electronics that exploits electrons' spin, rather than charge. In carbon nanotubes, the coupling of this spin with electron motion could offer a desirable way to control quantum information.
Arne Brataas
doi:10.1038/452419a
Letter: Coupling of spin and orbital motion of electrons in carbon nanotubes
F. Kuemmeth, S. Ilani, D. C. Ralph & P. L. McEuen
doi:10.1038/nature06822
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