New research coming out of the McCormick School at Northwestern University proposes the use of spin-transistors as a replacement for traditional CMOS transistors in computer chips. The scientists behind the project claim that electronic circuits could be up to a million times more efficient when using spintronics.
First shown at the International Symposium On Nanoscale Architectures held earlier this month in the Netherlands, the technology is described as an "entirely new logic circuit family" that uses magnetoresistive bipolar spin-transistors that are capable of performing the same functions as traditional CMOS transistors, but take advantage of the magnetic properties in electron spin to do so.
How fast and how efficient is the technology now? Don't ask. No information beyond the initial research and an associated paper "Emitter-Coupled Spin-Transistor Logic" has been disclosed. Don't expect this technology to materialize in any products anytime soon. However, in theory, it is amazing to see what may be possible in future devices.
