The first direct observation of giant spin-splitting has been made by an international team of researchers, which made the discovery while trying to develop spintronic technologies. The discovery came as a surprise because the material being studied – tungsten diselenide (WSe2) – has a crystal symmetry that, conventionally, would not allow for such spin-splitting to occur.
Spintronics is an emerging technology that aims at harnessing the electron's intrinsic spin and magnetic moment to develop new kinds of solid-state devices that are much faster, smaller and more energy efficient than current electronics.
To read more, click here.