A Review of Magnetic Materials and Spintronics

Abstract

Magnetic materials play a central role in modern technology, from traditional applications such as electric motors and data storage to emerging fields like spintronics. Spintronics, or spin-based electronics, exploits not only the charge of electrons but also their intrinsic spin and associated magnetic moment to store, process, and transmit information. This review presents a comprehensive overview of magnetic materials and their evolution toward spintronic applications. Fundamental magnetic interactions, classification of magnetic materials, and spin-dependent transport phenomena are discussed. Key spintronic concepts such as giant magnetoresistance, tunneling magnetoresistance, spin injection, and spin transfer torque are reviewed. A comparative analysis of magnetic materials used in spintronics is provided, followed by a discussion of technological challenges, recent advances, and future directions in magnetic and spin-based devices.