Orbitronics Unveiled: From Fundamentals to Two-Dimensional Materials

Speaker: Tatiana Rappoport – Minho University

Host: Cristiane de Morais Smith

In this seminar, we introduce the evolving field of orbitronics, which offers novel pathways for advancing information processing technologies. Unlike spintronics, which relies on the interconversion of charge and spin for data transfer and storage, and needs materials with robust spin-orbit coupling, often derived from scarce and environmentally problematic elements, orbitronics takes a different approach. It harnesses the often-overlooked orbital angular momentum of electrons in solids, presenting an attractive alternative to spintronics. Within this framework,we will explore key concepts in orbitronics, highlighting their similarities to established concepts in spintronics. For instance, we will discuss the orbital Hall effect (OHE), which shares characteristics with the spin Hall effect, but explores orbital degrees of freedom.

The focus will then shift to the area of 2D materials, particularly monolayers and bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 and WSe2. These materials exhibit intriguing properties, including the noteworthy presence of OHE even in their insulating phase.

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