Thin rare earth (RE) oxide films are emerging materials for microelectronic, nanoelectronic, and spintronic applications. The state-of-the-art of thin film deposition techniques as well as the structural, physical, chemical, and electrical properties of thin RE oxide films and of their interface with semiconducting substrates are discussed. The aim is to identify proper methodologies for the development of RE oxides thin films and to evaluate their effectiveness as innovative materials in different applications.

The spin degree-of-freedom is o?ering a wide range of intriguing oppor- nities both in fundamental as well as in applied solid-state physics. When combined with the rich and fertile physics of low-dimensional semicondu- ingstructuresandwiththepossibilitytochange,forexample,carrierdensity, electric ?elds or coupling to other quantum systems in a controlled way, an extremely exciting and interesting research ?eld is opened. Most comm- cial electronic devices are based on spin-independent charge transport. In the last two decades, however, scientists have been focusing on the ambitious objective of exploiting the spin degree-of-freedom of the electron to achieve novel functionalities. Ferromagnetic semiconductors, spin transistors, sing- spin manipulations or spin-torque MRAMs (magnetoresistive random access memories) are some of the hot topics. The importance of spin phenomena for new applications was recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of S- ences by awarding the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly to Albert Fert and Peter Grun .. berg "for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance". This - fect originates from spin-dependent scattering phenomena in a two-terminal ferromagnetic-paramagnetic-ferromagnetic junction leading to a new type of magnetic memory. The Hall e?ect and its applications remain fertile - search areas. The spin Hall e?ect, in analogy with the conventional Hall e?ect, occurs in paramagnetic systems as a result of spin-orbit interaction.

The spin degree-of-freedom is o?ering a wide range of intriguing oppor- nities both in fundamental as well as in applied solid-state physics. When combined with the rich and fertile physics of low-dimensional semicondu- ingstructuresandwiththepossibilitytochange,forexample,carrierdensity, electric ?elds or coupling to other quantum systems in a controlled way, an extremely exciting and interesting research ?eld is opened. Most comm- cial electronic devices are based on spin-independent charge transport. In the last two decades, however, scientists have been focusing on the ambitious objective of exploiting the spin degree-of-freedom of the electron to achieve novel functionalities. Ferromagnetic semiconductors, spin transistors, sing- spin manipulations or spin-torque MRAMs (magnetoresistive random access memories) are some of the hot topics. The importance of spin phenomena for new applications was recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of S- ences by awarding the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly to Albert Fert and Peter Grun .. berg "for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance". This - fect originates from spin-dependent scattering phenomena in a two-terminal ferromagnetic-paramagnetic-ferromagnetic junction leading to a new type of magnetic memory. The Hall e?ect and its applications remain fertile - search areas. The spin Hall e?ect, in analogy with the conventional Hall e?ect, occurs in paramagnetic systems as a result of spin-orbit interaction.

Thin rare earth (RE) oxide films are emerging materials for microelectronic, nanoelectronic, and spintronic applications. The state-of-the-art of thin film deposition techniques as well as the structural, physical, chemical, and electrical properties of thin RE oxide films and of their interface with semiconducting substrates are discussed. The aim is to identify proper methodologies for the development of RE oxides thin films and to evaluate their effectiveness as innovative materials in different applications.