Microwave detectors based on the spin-torque diode effect are among the key emerging spintronic devices. By utilizing the spin of electrons in addition to their charge, they have the potential to overcome the theoretical performance limits of their semiconductor (Schottky) counterparts. In the first part of the talk, I will discuss our recent results in the field of microwave detectors based on spin diodes.1 Those devices realized with magnetic tunnel junctions exhibit high-detection sensitivity >200kV/W at room temperature, without any external bias fields, and for low-input power (micro-Watts or lower).2 This sensitivity, achieved taking advantage of the injection locking, is significantly larger than both biased state-of-the-art-Schottky diode detectors and other existing spintronic diodes.
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