August 2007

IBM has linked with Japan's TDK to develop so-called spin torque transfer RAM (random access memory) or STT-RAM. In STT-RAM, an electric current is applied to a magnet to change the direction of the magnetic field. The direction of the magnetic field (up-and-down or left-to-right) causes a change in resistance, and the different levels of resistance register as 1s or 0s.

Under the current plan, IBM and TDK, an integral player in magnetic recording components for hard drives, will develop a 65-nanometer prototype within the next four years.

Previously, IBM had been working on a more conventional type of magnetic memory called MRAM. However, the company has been having trouble shrinking the transistors on these chips.

This international conference with an emphasis on materials, devices and applications aims to bring together people from both academia and industries working on spintronics to share ideas on the progress and future of this exciting technology. The conference is co-organised by the Worldwide University Network, The University of York, and the International Centre for Materials Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It will run for three days, with invited talks from world leading experts and contributed talks and posters from established and young researchers.

Conference: 7th - 10th August 2007

Topics

• Diluted magnetic semiconductors
  
• Heusler alloys and magnetic oxides
  
• Spin-coherence, spin-injection and detection
  
• Spin torque effects and microwave generation
  
• Spin-dynamics
  
• Spin devices
  
• Molecular Spintronics
  
• Characterisation