Faster phones, thanks to SPINTRONICS ft. Sofia Ferreira Teixeira

In this episode

• What spintronics is: using the spin of electrons, not just their charge, to build faster and more energy-efficient devices
• Why chips are hitting a limit on size and speed, and why the energy used by electronics matters
• How a summer school in physics, then an undergraduate internship in Porto on thermoelectrics for cars, led Sofia to topological insulators, magnetic materials and a postdoc at CIC nanoGUNE in the Basque Country
• The project she picked: her first paper, written as an undergraduate, and what it taught her about rejection and believing in her own work
• Why she loves the international, team side of science and the “adrenaline for the mind” when a result finally clicks
• Her three wishes: more diverse and empathetic science, less pressure to publish or perish, and easier access to instruments and materials

Key Takeaways

• Postdoc at CIC nanoGUNE (Basque Country) working on spintronics, controlling the spin of electrons with charge current to make faster, more energy-efficient devices (electronics already use ~4% of world energy).
• Moore’s-law scaling is hitting size and speed limits; spintronics is one route past them.
• Career followed curiosity: thermoelectrics → topological insulators (2016 Nobel) → magnetic materials → spintronics, staying with the same trusted supervisor from internship through PhD.
• Non-research loves: the internationality and teamwork, the travel/‘selling’ of results, and the ‘adrenaline for the mind’ when the last puzzle piece fits.
• Three wishes: more diverse people and more empathy, moving past ‘publish or perish’ and pure bibliometrics, and better access (beyond money) to facilities and instruments.

Listen on

About the guest

Sofia Ferreira Teixeira is a Postdoctoral Researcher at CIC nanoGUNE in Spain, working on spintronics, using electron spin to make faster, more energy-efficient electronics, and on characterising new layered magnetic materials. Sofia did a Bachelor in Physics at the University of Porto, with research internships at IFIMUP on thermoelectric materials.

Sofia Ferreira Teixeira curated the Real Scientists Nano Twitter account (@RealSci_Nano) from November 27 to December 4 2023. Read all of Sofia’s tweets from that week.