Technical Description: The central aim of this project is to determine the role of interface structure, chemistry and band alignment in spin transport and scattering in hybrid organic/inorganic heterostructures. The project consists of two components. The first is focused on using previously demonstrated spin-transport techniques to explore the impact of chemical modification and passivation of the inorganic surface on spin transport in hybrid organic/inorganic systems. The second focuses on the development of novel measurement geometries to directly probe the exchange interaction across the organic/inorganic interface for both bare and modified inorganic surfaces using the ultrafast pump-probe technique of ferromagnetic proximity polarization. The success of the project can help laying the foundation for the development of both hybrid and all-organic spintronic devices that exploit the relative ease of fabrication and inherent chemical functionality available in organic systems.
Non-technical Description: This research project is on the integration of organic-based magnetic materials into the developing field of spintronics, which relies on exploiting the magnetic properties of materials for low-power and instant-on electronics. The use of organic-based materials can potentially lead to room-temperature operation, inexpensive fabrication and intrinsic chemical sensitivity for on-chip integration of chemical sensing. The expansion of organic electronics to include organic-based magnetic materials and devices allows the development of capabilities complementary to traditional solid-state spintronics in much the same fashion that organic light-emitting diodes and organic thin-film transistors have provided low-cost, easier-to-manufacture alternatives for more conventional inorganic electronic devices. In addition, the PI works with physics PhD students in collaborative teams that use "live" intellectual property to develop viable business plans for commercialization, in collaboration with the Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Academy based in the Fischer College of Business at The Ohio State University. This training goes well beyond what is currently available to a typical PhD in physics and fills a critical gap in the development of our nation's STEM workforce.
