A bit can be defined as two different values; 1 or 0. That was until scientists at the University of Delaware and Cambridge NanoTech decided to investigate if they could measure and control the spin of silicon electrons, which they also have. Spintronics is one of the hottest research fields currently and this isn’t the first time scientists have turned to spintronics to work around the limitations of the computers of today. By controlling the spin of the electrons you would be able to make the electrons carry even more information than they already do, you simply get two more parameters to play with; + and -.
The researchers built silicon chips in a vacuum chamber which was then exposed to a magnetic field where the spin of the electrons started to gyrate. Previous technology hasn’t worked when applied to silicon, but by combining and develop new methods they’ve no been able to make the electrons dance. In the long run, this would mean that we get two more variables to use with each electron.
The article was published in Nature 447, 295-298 (May 17 2007); Electronic measurement and control of spin transport in silicon and online here.
