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Magnetic devices

Orbitronics in action

Nature Physics volume 19, page 1085 (2023)Cite this article

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Now, Young-Gwan Choi and colleagues have demonstrated the orbital Hall effect (OHE) in titanium thin films (Nature 619, 52–56; 2023). In the orbital Hall effect, electrons in the sample are deflected perpendicular to an applied electric current, depending on their orbital rotation direction, in the process accumulating orbital angular momentum at the boundaries (pictured). The team detected the magnetic moments at the surface of titanium films, arising from the accumulation of orbital angular momentum.

Observing the orbital Hall effect has remained challenging because it is difficult to distinguish the contributions from orbital and spin angular momentum of an electron. The proper selection of materials and experimental technique are therefore crucial to detecting this effect.

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  1. Nature Physics https://www.nature.com/naturephysics

    Debarchan Das

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  1. Debarchan Das
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Correspondence to Debarchan Das.

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Das, D. Orbitronics in action. Nat. Phys. 19, 1085 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02183-4

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