Are spin junction transistors suitable for signal processing?

A number of spintronic analogs of bipolar junction transistors have been proposed for signal processing applications. Here, we show that some of these transistors unfortunately may not have sufficient voltage and current gains for signal processing. They may also have poor isolation between input and output terminals which hinders unidirectional propagation of logic signal from the driver stage to the output. Therefore, these devices may not improve state-of-the-art signal processing capability, although they may provide some additional functionality by offering nonvolatile storage. They may also have niche applications in nonlinear circuits. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.