Organic Spintronics

In this chapter we review the emerging field of organic spintronics, emphasizing both the fundamental aspects of spin injection, transport, relaxation and detection in hybrid inorganic-organic heterostructures, and organic diodes as well as their potential applications. We discuss the main experimental results for different organic spintronic devices obtained so far, along with the theoretical understanding of the spin-based phenomena in these devices. First, the basic concepts of spintronics and organic electronics are addressed. Experiments using different organic materials, thin films, and techniques are reviewed. We conclude with discussing outstanding questions and problems in this emerging field.