"Beyond Charge Currents: Spin and ion currents for future data storage and computing technologies"

The era of computing technologies based on charge currents is coming to an end after more than 40 years of
exponential increases in computing power and data storage that have been largely based on shrinking devices in
two dimensions. A new era of “Beyond charge!” will evolve over the next decade that will likely be based on several
new concepts. Firstly, devices whose innate properties are derived not from the electron’s charge but from spin
currents and from ion currents. In some cases new functionality will arise that can extend charge based devices but
in other case fundamentally new computing and data storage paradigms will evolve. Secondly, devices will
inevitably become three‐dimensional: novel means of constructing devices, both from bottom‐up and top‐down, will
become increasingly important. Thirdly, bio‐inspired devices that may mimic the extremely energy efficient
computation systems in the biological world are compelling. In this talk I will discuss possible nascent spintronic and
ionitronic materials and devices and how they may lead to novel computing and data storage technologies over the
next decade or so.

Poster

Refreshments will be served at 9:45am