Initiative to analyze alternatives and innovative solutions to reduce global warming proposes to replace some functions of conventional electronics based on electric currents with spin transport.
Chile holds its first Spintronics day on January 23 2024 – hosted by the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and the Environment of the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM) together with the Universidad de la Frontera.
The initiative aims to comprehensively address the issue of global warming generated by electric currents in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
ICTs, fundamental in today’s society for activities such as streaming, collaborative games, video calls, remote work and distance education, have contributed significantly to the increase in ambient temperatures due to the intensive use of electrical currents.
Recent studies, such as the one conducted by Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, reveal that greenhouse gas emissions associated with ICTs exceed even those of aviation.
Aware of this problem, UTEM – in collaboration with the Universidad de la Frontera – focuses on this challenge by organizing the first version of Spintronics’ Day in Chile. The event, at UTEM’s Macul campus, brings together the local spintronics community, students and researchers from different generations.
The main objective is to analyze this branch of science that proposes to replace some functions of conventional electronics based on electric currents with spin transport.
This innovative approach, also known as spintronics, aims to store, process and read information by taking advantage of magnetic properties at the quantum level (spins).
Spintronics promises several technological applications that could mitigate the environmental impact associated with conventional electrical currents.
“From a technological point of view, spintronics applications store, process, transmit and read information at a lower energy cost than today. From the point of view of Basic Science, that is, thinking about the generation of knowledge, spintronics seeks to understand how various quantum entities interact and transform into each other,” said AlejanDro León Vega, an academic from the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and the Environment of the UTEM.
During the conference, which does not require prior registration to attend, experts in the field of spintronics present various exhibitions that adDress topics such as magnetism, nanoscience, nanotechnology and electronic transport, among others. Among others, Claudio González and Jerónimo Maze, both from the Catholic University of Chile; Paula Mellado, from the Adolfo Ibáñez University; Álvaro Núñez, from the University of Chile; AlejanDro Roldán-Molina, from the University of Aysén; and Adam B. Cahaya, from Universitas Indonesia, a professor who will not only participate in Spintronics’ Day but will also carry out research at UTEM.
Specialists share the latest advances and results in the study of this discipline.
In addition, the practical applications of spintronics are highlighted, offering a more comprehensive view of its potential to transform technology in a sustainable way.
