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Science 5 September 2003:
Vol. 301. no. 5638, pp. 1335 - 1336
DOI: 10.1126/science.1089800
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Perspectives

PHYSICS:
Spinning Holes in Semiconductors

Herbert A. Fertig

The electron spin is emerging as a new powerful tool in the electronics and optics industries. Many proposed applications--including quantum computers--require the creation of spin currents. However, such currents have so far proven difficult to produce in semiconductors. In his Perspective, Fertig highlights a new theoretical analysis by Murakami et al., who show how spin currents might be achieved. The authors propose using holes rather than electrons in semiconductors with substantial spin-orbit coupling.

The author is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA. E-mail: fertig{at}pa.uky.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)