Chiral‐Molecule‐Based Spintronic Devices

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2022-08, Vol.18 (32), p.e2203015-n/a
• Main Authors: Shang, Zixuan, Liu, Tianhan, Yang, Qianqian, Cui, Shuainan, Xu, Kailin, Zhang, Yu, Deng, Jinxiang, Zhai, Tianrui, Wang, Xiaolei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chirality; chiral‐induced spin selectivity; Ferromagnetism; Industrial applications; Information storage; Magnetic fields; Magnetic materials; Magnetic semiconductors; Molecular chemistry; Nanotechnology; Polarization (spin alignment); Selectivity; spin injection; spintronic devices; Spintronics
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202203015

Spintronics and molecular chemistry have achieved remarkable achievements separately. Their combination can apply the superiority of molecular diversity to intervene or manipulate the spin‐related properties. It inevitably brings in a new type of functional devices with a molecular interface, which has become an emerging field in information storage and processing. Normally, spin polarization has to be realized by magnetic materials as manipulated by magnetic fields. Recently, chiral‐induced spin selectivity (CISS) was discovered surprisingly that non‐magnetic chiral molecules can generate spin polarization through their structural chirality. Here, the recent progress of integrating the strengths of molecular chemistry and spintronics is reviewed by introducing the experimental results, theoretical models, and device performances of the CISS effect. Compared to normal ferromagnetic metals, CISS originating from a chiral structure has great advantages of high spin polarization, excellent interface, simple preparation process, and low cost. It has the potential to obtain high efficiency of spin injection into metals and semiconductors, getting rid of magnetic fields and ferromagnetic electrodes. The physical mechanisms, unique advantages, and device performances of CISS are sequentially clarified, revealing important issues to current scientific research and industrial applications. This mini‐review points out a key technology of information storage for future spintronic devices without magnetic components. This review provides significant discoveries and recent research results of chiral‐molecule‐based spintronic devices, combining the superiority of molecular diversity and spin‐related properties. Chiral molecules can realize high efficient spin polarization without ferromagnetic electrodes or magnetic fields. The spin injection into semiconductors will play an essential role in future spin logic circuits, with low power consumption, low cost, and high performance.