The department “OPTOSPINTRONICS” has been christened through merging the names of two main research fields, i.e. “optoelectronics” and “spintronics”, taken over along with the building of the team. Activity on spintronics has started in 1999, with Access To Research Infrastructures at the European Facility at IESL Heraklion, Crete, Greece, when PLD of the first known spin polarized half Heusler alloy NiMnSb has been deposited on InSb at moderate temperature and issued a WO patent Application. Further on, the department evolved following the initiative of the institute in setting up a European network focused on the development of spin-polarized half-Heusler and Heusler alloys as contacts for narrow gap semiconductor structures. The network eventually turned in a FP5 R&D project with 16 partners (FENIKS, G5-RD-CT-2001 00535 EC), where INOE 2000 played a foremost role through leading one of the 7 work packages, i.e., “Magnetic Alloy Deposition”.

The group OPTOSPINTRONICS counts three physicists (condensed matter, biophysics, nuclear physics), one chemical engineering scientists (organic chemistry engineering), one physical-chemistry scientist, one specialist in electronic engineering, two PhD students (condensed matter, polymer physics) and four students (as tehnicians). The actual activity of the group advances around hot topics in materials science, physics, chemistry, and modelling focused on photonics, spintronics, sensors and their wide applications, and mathematical modelling.