| Description |
This dissertation is chiefly comprised of three research papers from the University of Utah research groups exploring aspects of spin transport in various organic (or hybrid organic) materials. These materials, including polymers, fullerenes, and small molecules as well as metallic-organic hybrids, hold significant promise for future spintronic devices, yet have unique challenges and advantages when compared with traditional inorganic media due to their complex chemistry and structure. In each of these papers, these materials are employed as either spin detection, spin generation, or spin transport layers in thin film devices in order to determine their applicability for these respective functions in spintronic devices. Together, these reports demonstrate that organic materials have an important place in spintronic research seeking to discover and exploit their unique properties. One central experimental technique utilized in all three papers is spin pumping by a magnetic layer under ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) excitation followed by spin detection via the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE), whereby a spin current is converted into an electrical current through the spin-orbit coupling mechanism. Through this method, a pure spin current can be generated without accompanying charge currents, thus allowing for independent study of the spin and charge transport properties of the material. The FMR and ISHE measurements were carried out in two experimental systems at the University of Utah; a home-built FMR system constructed by the author in the Vardeny research group, and a commercial Bruker pulse-EPR system in the Boehme group. |
