Non-equilibrium orbital angular momentum for orbitronics

¹ Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany
² Peter Grünberg Institut, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
³ Centre for Quantum Spintronics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway

Abstract

Efficient manipulation of magnetization by electrical current is a key aim in spintronics. The state-of-the-art theories and experiments in spintronics show that harnessing non-equilibrium orbital angular momentum can significantly enhance the efficiency due to novel torques. Devices are based on environment-friendly materials, which has been difficult to achieve by the mechanisms based on spin only, and this has also kickstarted a new emerging field of research: orbitronics.