Investigating magnetic excitation-induced spin current in chromium trihalides

An ingenious approach toward developing low-power, high-speed, and high-density memory devices is based on spintronics, an emerging frontier in technology that harnesses a degree of freedom of electrons known as spin. Put simply, electrons, along with their negative charge, possess a spin whose orientation can be controlled using magnetic fields. This is particularly relevant for magnetic insulators, in which the electrons cannot move around, but the spin remains controllable. In these materials, the magnetic excitations can give rise to a spin current, which forms the basis of spintronics.