History and Origins
While spinmechatronics has been recognised only recently (2008) as an independent field, hybrid spin-mechanical system development dates back to the early nineteen-nineties, with devices combining spintronics and micromechanics emerging at the turn of the twenty-first century.
One of the longest established spinmechatronic systems is the Magnetic Resonance Force Microscope or MRFM. First proposed by J. A. Sidles in a seminal paper of 1991 – and since extensively developed both theoretically and experimentally by a number of international research groups – the MRFM operates by coupling a magnetically loaded micro-mechanical cantilever to an excited nuclear, proton or electron spin system. The MRFM concept effectively combines scanning atomic force microscopy (AFM) with magnetic resonance spectroscopy to provide a spectroscopic tool of unparalleled sensitivity. Nanometre resolution is possible, and the technique potentially forms the basis for ultra-high sensitivity, ultra-high resolution magnetic, biochemical, biomedical, and clinical diagnostics.
The synergy of micromechanics and established spintronic technologies for sensing applications is one of the most significant spinmechatronic developments of the last decade. At the beginning of this century, strain sensors incorporating magnetoresistive technologies emerged and a wide range of devices exploiting similar principles are likely to realize research and commercial potential by 2015.
Contemporary innovation in spinmechatronics drives forward the independent advancement of cutting-edge science in spin physics, spintronics and micro- and nano-mechatronics and catalyses the development of wholly new instrumentation, control and fabrication techniques to facilitate and exploit their integration.
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