Mechanically tunable magnetic and electronic transport properties of flexible magnetic films and their heterostructures for spintronics

Abstract

The incorporation of flexible conception into spintronics has attracted long-standing scientific attention because the contemporary consumer electronic devices compared with conventional silicon-based counterparts urgently need spintronic devices that can be shaped into almost any arbitrary angle, shows lightweight, good mechanical stretchability, compatibility, and portability. Here, the purpose of this work is to systematically review the most recent progress on mechanical strain-mediated physical properties of magnetic membranes and its applications, especially magnetic and spin-dependent electronic transport properties. Firstly, we have briefly presented a general overview of flexible spintronics including flexible substrates and magnetic films in Section B. From the beginning, research in the field of flexibility has mainly focused on the exploration of excellent flexible substrates for the fabrication of films or devices. Subsequently, some results have been reported to optimize the physical properties (e.g., optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal) of functional membranes through the mechanical strain. Recently, rapid progress is being made in various applications of shapeable spintronic devices such as flexible magnetic or strain sensors, which benefit from flexible inorganic magnetic membranes with high sensitivity or robustness features. Then, the effects of mechanical strain on magnetic and spin-dependent electronic transport properties of flexible magnetic films and its heterostructures are reviewed thoroughly in Section C, followed by the underlying mechanism of those physical properties in details. In addition, Section D elaborated several flexible devices based on inorganic magnetic membranes. Lastly, the conclusion and prospective future are outlined in the Section E. The most straightforward statements regarding the development of flexible magnetic membranes and its applications for spintronics are presented, which can promote the exploration and design of novel and promising flexible spintronic devices.