{"id":71655,"date":"2025-07-18T03:55:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T03:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/71655\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T03:55:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T03:55:08","slug":"scientists-successfully-develop-half-metal-material-that-conducts-single-spin-electrons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/71655\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists successfully develop half metal material that conducts single-spin electrons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Two atoms thick layer of iron and palladium (left, yellow\/red): Experiments with spin-resolved momentum microscopy show that only electrons with a specific spin direction (indicated as red\/blue) can be found on the so-called Fermi surface and thus actively contribute to charge transport. Credit: Forschungszentrum J\u00fclich \/ Xin Liang Tan<\/p>\n

Researchers at Forschungszentrum J\u00fclich have successfully created the world’s first experimentally verified two-dimensional half metal\u2014a material that conducts electricity using electrons of just one spin type: either “spin-up” or “spin-down.” Their findings, now published<\/a> as an Editors’ Suggestion in Physical Review Letters, mark a milestone in the quest for materials enabling energy-efficient spintronic that go beyond conventional electronics.<\/p>\n

Half metals are key to spintronics: Unlike traditional conductors, half metals allow only one spin orientation to pass through. This makes them ideal candidates for spintronics, a next-generation information technology that leverages both the charge and the spin of electrons for data storage and processing. In conventional electronics, on the other hand, only the charge is used.<\/p>\n

However, all known half metals operate only at ultra-low temperatures<\/a> and lose their special properties at the surface\u2014limiting their use. This was until now, when the team at Forschungszentrum J\u00fclich engineered a 2D half metal in the form of an ultrathin alloy of iron and palladium, just two atoms thick, on a palladium crystal. Using a state-of-the-art imaging technique called spin-resolved momentum microscopy, they showed that the alloy allows only one spin type to conduct, confirming the long-sought 2D half-metallicity.<\/p>\n

Robust and tunable<\/p>\n

“Remarkably, the material doesn’t require a perfect crystal structure, which is a major advantage for real-world fabrication. Its special electronic properties can be fine-tuned by adjusting the iron content<\/a>,” explains Xin Liang Tan, Ph.D. student in the group of Dr. Christian Tusche at the Peter Gr\u00fcnberg Institute (PGI-6).<\/p>\n

The discovery also overturns the long-standing assumption that spin\u2013orbit coupling\u2014an interaction between an electron’s spin and its motion\u2014hinders half-metallicity. “Instead, when carefully balanced with magnetic exchange from the iron atoms, spin\u2013orbit coupling helps enable the effect, as we could show,” adds Dr. Ying-Jiun Chen from the Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C-1) at Forschungszentrum J\u00fclich.<\/p>\n

Pathway to next-generation devices<\/p>\n

The new material<\/a> could serve as a foundation for spintronic components such as spin filters and spin-orbit torque systems, which are crucial for switching magnetic states in memory chips. Because it remains effective up to room temperature and integrates well with thin-film technologies, the alloy offers a promising route toward practical applications.<\/p>\n

In addition, the material shows a rare feature: its spin polarization runs opposite to the direction of magnetization, a phenomenon that could unlock new functionalities in nanoscale magnetic devices.<\/p>\n

More information:<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tXin Liang Tan et al, Exchange Engineering of a Two-Dimensional Half-Metal, Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103\/mx46-85zf<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJ\u00fclich Research Centre<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScientists successfully develop half metal material that conducts single-spin electrons (2025, July 17)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 17 July 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-07-scientists-successfully-metal-material-electrons.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

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