Proposal for an ultrasensitive spintronic strain and stress sensor

We propose a spintronic strain/stress sensor capable of sensing strain with a sensitivity of similar to 10(-13) Hz(-1/2) at room temperature with an active sensing area of similar to 1 cm(2) and power dissipation of similar to 1W. This device measures stress or strain by monitoring the change in the spin-polarized current in a parallel array of free-standing nanowire spin valves when the array is subjected to compressive or tensile stress along the wires' length. Such a sensor can be fabricated using a variety of techniques involving nanolithography, self-assembly and epitaxial growth.