8 RESONANCE November 2005

GENERAL ARTICLE
Spintronics
2. Devices and Materials
R Srinivasan
Keywords Keywords Keywords Keywords Keywords
Spi n-pol ari zat i on, magnet o-
resi stance, spi n val ves, spi n
filters, spin diodes, spin tran-
sistors.
R Srinivasan was the
Director of Inter-
University Consortium for
DAE Facility, Indore and
at present a Visiting
Professor with the Laser-
Cooling Group, Raman
Research Institute.
Part 1. Principles, Resonance,
Vol.10, No.9, pp.53-62, 2005.
In thIs art, tho connorcIaI aIIcatIons oI sIn-
tronIcs aro doscrIIod IrIoy to IndIcato tho o-
tontIaI oI sIntronIcs. ThIs Is IoIIovod Iy a do-
scrItIon oI sono oI tho roosod dovIcos. Sono
dovIcos havo Ioon connorcIaIIy oxIoItod vhIIo
othors aro stIII In tho dovoIonont stago. A dIs-
cussIon oI natorIaIs suItaIIo Ior sIntronIc do-
vIcos vIII Io gIvon.
IntroductIon
In Iari 1 of ilis scrial ariiclc wc oiscnssco ilc polariza-
iion of clcciron spin in fcrromagnciic maicrials, polar-
izaiion injcciion inio a normal mcial (or snpcrcononcior
or scmicononcior) from a fcrromagnci, ano ocicciion of
inoncco polarizaiion. In ilis pari, commcrcial applica-
iions of spinironics will hc ocscrihco followco hy a ois-
cnssion of proposco ocviccs ano maicrials sniiahlc for
spinironics.
ConnorcIaI ExIoItatIon oI SIntronIc OovIcos
Wlcn a magnciic nclo is applico ilcrc is a clangc in rc-
sisiancc (of ilc orocr of 1/ for 1 Jcsla = 10,000 Ganss)
cvcn in normal mcials. In somc fcrromagnciic mcials ilc
oircciion of magnciizaiion can hc rcvcrsco on ilc appli-
caiion of a magnciic nclo of ilc orocr of 10 Ganss. Using
a spin valvc ocvicc io hc ocscrihco hclow onc can aclicvc
a magncio-rcsisiancc of 10/ or morc wiil an applico
nclo of ahoni 10 Ganss. Jlis plcnomcnon callco Giani
Magncio-rcsisiancc (GMI) was oiscovcrco in 1988 hy
Alhcri Icri in Iaris ano Icicr Grnhcrg in Jnlicl, in mag-
nciic mnliilaycrs in wlicl laycrs of fcrromagnciic maic-
rials wcrc scparaico hy ilin laycrs of a normal mcial, for
9 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Giant magneto-
resistance discovered
by A Fert and Peter
Grnberg in 1988 has
resulted in the
commercial
production of small
magnetic read heads.
Now information can
be stored in high-
density 200 GB hard
disks. This is a
billion dollars
industry.
Magnetic Tunnel
junctions can be used
to produce MRAMS
which combine in
them the advantages
of high density of
information storage,
high speed of access
and non-volatility .
Magnetic sensors
can be made for a
variety of
applications.
cxamplc in Co,Cn mnliilaycrs. In ilcsc maicrials ilc
magniinoc of ilc magnciorcsisiancc is morc ilan 100/
ai low icmpcrainrcs.Jlc Ircncl Naiional Ccnirc for Sci-
cniinc Icscarcl (CNIS) las awaroco ilc Mcoaillc oOr
(Golocn Mcoal) for 200 io Irof A Icri. Applicaiion of
GMI in ilc rcao lcaos of compnicr oiscs was ocvclopco
hy ILM in 1997, nsing ilin nlm icclniqncs. Ahoni 01
million sncl rcao lcaos arc prooncco cvcry ycar. Jlc
GMI rcao lcaos arc ahlc io scnsc vcry small magnciic
nclos in ilc wriiicn informaiion on laro oiscs. Jlis las
lco io a snhsianiial occrcasc in spacc rcqnirco io siorc
hiis of informaiion ano las plcnomcnally incrcasco ilc
sioragc capaciiy of laro oiscs. Jooay laro oisks lavc a
sioragc capaciiy of 200 GL. Jlc markci is csiimaico io
hc a fcw hillion US oollars pcr ycar.
Onc can nsc GMI ano Magnciic Jnnncl Jnnciions
(MJJs io hc ocscrihco laicr) for non-volaiilc mcmo-
rics in compnicrs. Ai prcscni ilcrc arc ilrcc oincrcni
iypcs of mcmory clcmcnis, cacl laving a spccinc clar-
acicrisiic. Jlcsc arc ilc scmicononcior ranoom acccss
mcmory (SIAM) wlicl proviocs ligl spcco of acccss,
ilc oynamic ranoom acccss mcmory (DIAM) wlicl
proviocs ligl ocnsiiy ano ilc Ilasl, wlicl proviocs
non-volaiiliiy or rcicniion of mcmory cvcn long aficr
ilc powcr is swiiclco on. Using magnciic innncl jnnc-
iions onc can lavc a Magnciic Ianoom Acccss Mcmory
(MIAM) wlicl will comhinc all ilc ilrcc claracicris-
iics. Iapio aovanccs in maicrials ano ocvicc icclnology
arc cxpccico io makc ilis a possihiliiy. Jlcrc will hc
a mncl higgcr markci rnnning inio lnnorcos of hillion
oollars for MIAMS.
Jlc small sizc ano low powcr consnmpiion of spinironic
scnsors allows ilc proonciion of an on-clip array of scn-
sors io ocicci low magnciic nclos wiil ligl spaiial rcs-
olniion. Sncl ocviccs can hc nsco io ocicci vcry small
clangcs in magnciic nclos in magnciic hioscnsors, non-
ocsirnciivc icsiing, ano posiiion ano oocnmcni valioa-
10 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Figure 1. Spin valve.
A spin valve is a
device which
allows electrons of
one spin
polarization to flow
through and
obstructs the flow
of electrons of the
opposite spin
polarization.
iion inclnoing cnrrcncy ano crcoii caros, ano in mag-
nciic imaging.
Lci ns now consiocr ilc principlcs on wlicl somc of ilc
spinironic ocviccs opcraic.
SIn YaIvos
Consiocr a ilin nlm IM1 of a laro fcrromagnciic maic-
rial scparaico from anoilcr ilin nlm IM2 of a sofi fcrro-
magnciic maicrial hy a normal mcial nlm ( 1).
Lci ilc oircciion of magnciizaiion of ilc iwo IM rcgions
hc parallcl. Wlcn a DC voliagc is applico io ilc cnos
of ilis sanowicl, a cnrrcni iravcls parallcl io ilc lcngil
of ilc sanowicl. Ior ilc samc applico voliagc ilc cnr-
rcni is largc wlcn ilc oircciions of magnciizaiion of ilc
fcrromagnciic nlms arc parallcl. If ilc magnciizaiion of
IM2 is rcvcrsco hy ilc applicaiion of a small magnciic
nclo, ilc cnrrcni orops in valnc. Jlis lappcns hccansc
of inicrfacial scaiicring ano clanncling of ilc cnrrcni.
Sncl a ocvicc is callco a spin valvc as ii allows clccirons
of onc spin oricniaiion io go ilrongl ano prcvcnis clcc-
irons of an opposiic spin oricniaiion io now ilrongl.
Jlis inoicaics ilai ilc rcsisiancc I wlcn ilc mag-
nciizaiion in ilc iwo fcrromagnciic nlms arc parallcl is
smallcr ilan ilc rcsisiancc I wlcn ilc magnciiza-
iion of ilc fcrro-magnciic nlms arc aniiparallcl. Jlc
magncio-rcsisiancc pcrccniagc is ocnnco as
/ = [( ) [ 100 (1)
11 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Figure 2. Spin filter. The fer-
romagnetic film is of
Europium chalcogenide.
When unpolarized
electrons pass
through a spin
filter, electrons with
either up or down
spins are filtered
out.
A spin valvc is a ocvicc wlicl allows clccirons of onc
spin polarizaiion io now ilrongl ano ohsirncis ilc now
of clccirons of ilc opposiic spin polarizaiion
Jlc GMI in sncl mnliilaycr nlms, oiscovcrco in 1988,
forms ilc hasis for ilc commcrcial applicaiions ocscrihco
in ilc carlicr scciion.
Jlc samc ilin nlm icclniqnc can hc nsco io makc a
I

II

innncl jnnciion wiil a laro fcrromagnciic nlm as

I

, a sofi fcrromagnciic nlm as I

ano a ilin insnlai-

ing oxioc laycr in hciwccn. Jlcsc arc callco magnciic
innncl jnnciions (MJJ). Onc can aclicvc a vcry largc
clangc in innncling cononciancc on ilc applicaiion of a
magnciic nclo io rcvcrsc ilc magnciizaiion in I

. Sncl a
jnnciion las a liglcr scnsiiiviiy ilan ilc GMI rcsisiivc
clcmcni. Jlc innncl jnnciion consnmcs lcss powcr ilan
ilc rcsisiivc GMI clcmcni. Jlis is an aovaniagc. Lni
iis ligl impcoancc makcs ii morc snsccpiihlc io noisc.
Jlcsc jnnciions can hc nsco io form MIAMs mcniionco
in ilc carlicr scciion.
SIn FIItor
A sclcmaiic oiagram of a spin nlicr is givcn in
2. Wc lavc iwo hnlk normal mcial nlms scparaico hy a
nlm of Lnropinm clalcogcnioc.
Jlis is a N-I-N innncl jnnciion in wlicl ilc applica-
iion of a magnciic nclo io ilc Ln-clalcogcnioc nlm pro-
viocs spin nlicring. In ilc normal mcial ilc clccirons
arc nnpolarizco. Jlc innncling cnrrcni ilrongl ilc Ln-
clalcogcnioc nlm gcis polarizco hccansc of ilc oincr-
cncc in ilc innncling harricr lciglis hciwccn ilc nor-
mal mcial ano ilc Ln-clalcogcnioc for iwo spin oricnia-
iions. 100/ spin polarizaiion was aclicvco ai an applico
nclo of 1.2 J wiil LnSc nlicr. Jlcrc arc oilcr mcil-
oos of rcalizing spin-nlicring nsing spin-orhii conpling or
loi clcciron iranspori across fcrromagnciic rcgions. Ii
las hccn proposco ilai spin nlicring of Ln-clalcogcniocs
12 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Figure 3. Magnetic bipolar
diode: In the p-region on
the left the conduction
band is split due to the
exchange interaction and
the equilibrium popula-
tion of the minority carri-
ers (electrons repre-
sented by m mm mm) depends on
spin. The valence band is
not split. Holes are shown
as l ll ll . n region on the
right is not exchange split.
An MBD consists of
a diode made of a p-
type magnetic semi-
conductor and a n-
type semiconductor.
Its I-V characteristic
depends on the
polarization of the
electrons.
wiil onc clcciron qnaninm oois may form an imporiani
ingrcoicni in qnaninm compniing.
SIn OIodos
Jlcsc arc iwo icrminal ocviccs in wlicl ilc jnnciion
claracicrisiics arc alicrco ciilcr hy polarizaiion of ilc
carricrs or ilc polarizaiion of ilc rccomhinaiion ccnicrs.
Jlc rccomhinaiion lifciimc of ilc injccico carricrs will
ilcn ocpcno npon ilc spin of ilc carricr. So ilc oiooc
cnrrcni in ilc forwaro oircciion is mooinco hy ilc appli-
caiion of a magnciic nclo. Wlilc sncl an cncci was sccn
cvcn in p-n jnnciions of silicon ilc clangcs prooncco hy
ilc magnciic nclo in ilc forwaro cnrrcni is only ahoni
0.01/.
A magnciic hipolar oiooc is a p-n jnnciion ocvicc in
wlicl onc or hoil ilc rcgions arc magnciic scmicon-
onciors. Onc sncl oiooc is p-Ga(Mn)As-nGaAs. Jlc
p-rcgion is a magnciic scmicononcior. A sclcmaiic oia-
gram of opcraiion of a magnciic hi-polar oiooc is slown
in 3.
Jlc ocplciion rcgion is slown hciwccn ilc iwo jnnc-
iions. If ilc majoriiy carricrs on ilc n-sioc arc noi spin
polarizco ilcn no cnrrcni nows ilrongl ilc oiooc in ilc
ahscncc of ilc poicniial . If a non-cqnilihrinm spin
polarizaiion is crcaico in ilc n-rcgion, ciilcr hy slin-
ing circnlarly polarizco ligli or hy injcciion from ilc
fcrromagnciic mcial, ilcn onc sccs a largcr cnrrcni in
ilc forwaro oircciion for ilc np-spin polarizaiion ilan
for ilc oown spin polarizaiion. Jlis ariscs hccansc ilc
jnnciion poicniial harricr is lcss for np-spin clccirons
ilan for oown-spin clccirons as slown in ilc 3.
13 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
A magnetic bi-polar
transistor consists of a
non-magnetic semi-
conductor emitter and
a collector separated
by a base of a
magnetic p-type
semiconductor. The
characteristics are
different for up- and
down- spin electrons.
Figure 4. Schematic for a
Magnetic Bipolar Transis-
tor.
Jlns ilc forwaro cnrrcni is mooinco ocpcnoing on ilc
sign of ilc non-cqnilihrinm polarizaiion in ilc n rcgion.
If ilc polarizaiion is crcaico hy circnlarly polarizco ligli
ilcn ilc opcn circnii voliagc in ilc oiooc will ocpcno on
ilc oircciion of ilc circnlar polarizaiion. Jlis is callco
ilc spin-voliaic cncci. Alicrnaicly ilc slori circnii cnr-
rcni will slow giani magncio-rcsisiancc. Howcvcr prac-
iical MLDs arc siill io hc maoc ano icsico.
SIn TransIstors
Wc slall oiscnss iwo proposco sclcmcs for spin iransis-
iors onc in analogy wiil ilc hipolar iransisior ano ilc
oilcr in analogy wiil ilc nclo cncci iransisior.
In ilc hipolar iransisior wc lavc a scmicononcior cmii-
icr, a magnciic scmicononcior hasc ano a scmicononcior
collccior as slown in 4.
Jnsi as in a hi-polar iransisior, wc lavc an cmiiicr, a
hasc ano a collccior. Jlc cmiiicr ano collccior arc non-
magnciic n-iypc scmicononciors. Jlc hasc is a p-iypc
magnciic scmicononcior in wlicl ilc cononciion hano is
splii onc io cxclangc inicraciion. Jlc jnnciion hciwccn
ilc cmiiicr ano ilc hasc is forwaro hiasco, wlilc ilc
jnnciion hciwccn ilc hasc ano ilc collccior is rcvcrsc
hiasco.
If a non-cqnilihrinm polarizaiion is prooncco in ilc cmii-
icr, ilc spin-polarizco clccirons will now iowaros ilc
14 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Figure 5. Schematic of
DattaDas Spin FET.
New materials with a
wider range of spin
polarization either in
the metallic or
semiconductor form
will be desirable.
These materials must
have a Curie
temperature above
room temperature so
that they will be
ferromagnetic at room
temperature. We
also need materials
with a large
magnetization that
can be reversed with
the application of low
magnetic fields.
hasc. A fcw of ilcsc clccirons rccomhinc wiil lolcs in
ilc hasc io prooncc a hasc cnrrcni. Jlc rcsi of ilc spin-
polarizco clccirons will now ilrongl ilc ilin hasc io ilc
collccior. Wc may ocnnc a cnrrcni amplincaiion as ilc
raiio of ilc collccior cnrrcni IC io ilc hasc cnrrcni IL.
Lni ilis facior will lavc oincrcni valncs for posiiivc ano
ncgaiivc non-cqnilihrinm polarizaiions. Sncl a iransis-
ior las noi yci hccn rcalizco.
Jlc sccono iransisior is ilc DaiiaDas nclo cncci spin
iransisior. A conccpinal oiagram of ilis iransisior is
slown in . Ii consisis of iwo fcrromagnciic mci-
als as sonrcc ano orain.
Jlc sonrcc ano orain arc fcrromagnciic mcials or scmi-
cononciors. Jlc polarizco clccirons injccico from ilc
sonrcc iravcl along a qnasi-onc oimcnsional clanncl in a
lcicro-jnnciion formco hy iwo normal scmicononciors.
G is ilc gaic clccirooc. In a scmicononcior likc InGaAs
ilcrc is an ahscncc of invcrsion symmciry in ilc crys-
ial sirncinrc. In aooiiion ilcrc is a lack of invcrsion
symmciry in a lcicrojnnciion as ilc iwo maicrials on
ciilcr sioc of ilc jnnciion arc oincrcni. Dnc io ilis lack
of invcrsion symmciry ilc cncrgy of an clcciron wiil a
wavc vccior $ in ilc planc ano spin np is oincrcni
from ilc cncrgy of ilc clcciron wiil wavc vccior $ wiil
spin oown. Jlis is cqnivalcni io an cncciivc magnciic
nclo %&$'. If ilc moiion is maoc qnasi-onc oimcnsional
parallcl io ilc axis, ilc cncciivc magnciic nclo will hc
15 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
The DattaDas spin
FET is a transistor in
which the gate
voltage will control
the precession
frequency of the
electron. Then the
electron in travelling
from the source to
the drain may find its
spin either parallel or
anti-parallel to the
spin of the electron
in the drain.
Accordingly, FET will
have low or high
resistance to the
current flow.
along ilc oircciion ano will cansc ilc spin io prcccss
in ilc planc as slown in ilc ngnrc. If ilc spin prc-
ccssion frcqncncy is vcry low, ilc clcciron will iravcl ilc
lcngil of ilc clanncl wiiloni an apprcciahlc clangc in
iis spin oricniaiion ano will cnicr ilc orain as slown
in ilc nppcr pari of ilc ngnrc. Onc can conirol ilc cf-
fcciivc magnciic nclo hy applying a voliagc io ilc gaic
clccirooc. If ilc cncciivc magnciic nclo is incrcasco,
ilc prcccssion of ilc clcciron spin aronno ilc nclo is
incrcasco ano ilc oricniaiion of ilc spin may clangc hy
180

in iravclling from ilc sonrcc io ilc orain as slown

in ilc lowcr pari of ilc ngnrc. Jlcn ilc clcciron will
hc rcnccico ai ilc inicrfacc of ilc orain clccirooc ano
ilc clanncl, ano ilc cnrrcni nowing io ilc orain will hc
low. Jlns wc can conirol ilc cnrrcni rcacling ilc orain
wiil a gaic clccirooc. Jlc DaiiaDas spin ILJ is yci
io hc rcalizco.
Jlcrc arc oilcr morc complcx proposals for spin ILJs
wlicl will noi hc oiscnssco lcrc.
^atorIaIs Ior SIntronIcs
Irom ilc ahovc oiscnssion ii is apparcni ilai ncw maic-
rials wiil a wiocr rangc of spin polarizaiion ciilcr in ilc
mciallic or scmicononcior form will hc ocsirahlc. Jlcsc
maicrials mnsi lavc a Cnric icmpcrainrc ahovc room
icmpcrainrc so ilai ilcy will hc fcrromagnciic ai room
icmpcrainrc. Wc also ncco maicrials wiil a largc mag-
nciizaiion ilai can hc rcvcrsco wiil ilc applicaiion of
low magnciic nclos.
Jlc DaiiaDas spin ILJ is a iransisior in wlicl ilc
gaic voliagc will conirol ilc prcccssion frcqncncy of ilc
clcciron. Jlcn ilc clcciron in iravclling from ilc sonrcc
io ilc orain may nno iis spin ciilcr parallcl or anii-
parallcl io ilc spin of ilc clcciron in ilc orain. Ac-
coroingly, ILJ will lavc a low or ligl rcsisiancc io ilc
cnrrcni now.
16 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Half-metallic materials
are those in which the
energy sub-band with
one spin orientation is
either empty or
completely full (Figure
3 Part 1). Such
materials have a large
magnitude of spin
polarization.
Half-mciallic maicrials arc ilosc in wlicl ilc cncrgy
snh-hano wiil onc spin oricniaiion is ciilcr cmpiy or
complcicly fnll ( 3 Iari 1). Sncl maicrials lavc a
largc magniinoc of spin polarizaiion. Lxamplcs of sncl
maicrials arc CrO

, Ic

. Colossal magncio-rcsisiivc
maicrials sncl as Sr-oopco LaMnO

, ano oonhlc pcr-

ovskiics lavc fonno wioc applicaiion in GMI ocviccs.
An imporiani class of maicrials cnrrcnily nnocr invcsii-
gaiion arc ilc Hcnslcr alloys. Jlcy lavc a composiiion
X

YZ, wlcrc X ano Y arc iransiiion clcmcnis ano Z is

a gronp III,IV or V clcmcni. Half-Hcnslcr alloys lavc a
composiiion XYZ.
Icrromagnciic scmicononciors sncl as CrLr

arc known
io hc liglly spin polarizco. Icccni oiscovcry of ilc fcr-
romagnciic scmicononciors, Mn-oopco III-Vcomponnos,
las spnrrco a loi of inicrcsi. Howcvcr, ilc solnhiliiy of
ilc magnciic oopani in ilc III-V scmicononcior is small.
Lxccss oopani icnos io form clnsicrs. Jlc clnsicrs makc
ii oimcnli io nno ilc cxaci Cnric icmpcrainrc. Oficn
ilc rcporico Cnric icmpcrainrcs of somc maicrials can
hc ascrihco io ilc formaiion of sncl clnsicrs. Co-oopco
JiO

cxlihiis room icmpcrainrc fcrromagnciism ano

is opiically iransparcni. Jlc scarcl for ncw magnciic
scmicononciing maicrials is hcing pnrsnco vigoronsly.

Jlc cxpcciaiion ilai ilc manipnlaiion of clcciron spin

will lcao io ncw classcs of scnsor, logic ano sioragc oc-
viccs las alrcaoy hccn rcalizco ano sncl ocviccs lavc
hccn pni io commcrcial nsc. Jlc miniainrisaiion of con-
vcniional clccironic ocviccs is limiico hy ilc powcr oissi-
paiion. Ii las hccn snggcsico ilai spin cnrrcni can now
in a scmicononcior wiiloni cncrgy oissipaiion. Hcncc
onc can orcam of rcplacing cxisiing clccironic ocviccs
wiil spin-hasco ocviccs wiil low powcr consnmpiion.
As wc saw ahovc, many ncw iocas for spin-hasco ocviccs
lavc hccn pni forwaro. Jlcrc lavc hccn rapio aovanccs
17 RESONANCE November 2005
GENERAL ARTICLE
Address for Correspondence
R Srinivasan
Raman Research Institue
C.V.Raman Avenue
Sadashivanagar
Bangalore 560 080, India.
Email:rsv@rri.res.in
Suggested Reading
[1] S A Wolf, D D Awschalom, P A Buhrman, J M Daughton, M L von
Molna Roukes, A Y Chtchelnakova and D M Treger, Spintronics : a
spin-based electronics vision for the future, Science , Vol.294, p.1488,
2001.
[2] J F Gregg, I Petej, E Jouguelet and C Dennis, Spin electronics: A
Review, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol.35, p.R121, 2002.
[3] S J Pearton, C R Abernathy, M E Overberg, G T Thaler, D P Norton, N
Theodoropoulov, A F Hebard, Y D Park, F Ren, J Kim and L A Boatner,
Wide band gap ferromagnetic semiconductors and oxides, Journal of
Applied Physics, Vol.93, p.1, 2003.
[4] Chambers Scott A and Yoo Young K. (Ed), New materials for spintronics,
Materials Research Bulletin, October (2003) (The full issue is devoted
to this topic).
in nnocrsianoing ilc nnocrlying complcx plysics. How-
cvcr, ii is noi clcar low many of ilc ocviccs will hc
rcalizco in a commcrcially viahlc form. Onc will lavc io
waii for somc morc iimc io scc if ilc promisco poicniial
of spinironics wonlo hc rcalizco in praciicc.
Man is the animal that draws lines which he himself then stumbles
over. In the whole pattern of civilization there have been two
tendencies, one toward straight lines and rectangular patterns and
one toward circular lines. There are reasons, mechanical and psy-
chological, for both tendencies. Things made with straight lines fit
well together and save space. And we can move easily physically
or mentally around things made with round lines. But we are in a
straitjacket, having to accept one or the other, when often some
intermediate form would be better. To draw something freehand
such as the patchwork traffic circle they tried in Stockholm will not
do. It isnt fixed, isnt definite like a circle or square. You dont
know what it is. It isnt esthetically satisfying. The super-ellipse
solved the problem. It is neither round nor rectangular, but in
between. Yet it is fixed, it is definite it has a unity.
Piet Hein