First NIMS Award - W. H. Butler

The National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, has announced that the first NIMS Award for recent breakthroughs in materials science and technology has been presented to Professor William H. Butler (Center for Materials for Information Technology, University of Alabama, USA) for the theoretical prediction of giant tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR). Professor Butler performed the first principle calculation on tunnel conductance through MgO(001) single crystal thin film, and theoretically predicted the giant TMR effect of the Fe(100)/MgO/Fe(100) junction for the first time. A giant TMR effect beyond ~500 % has now been realized, which is expected to make a substantial contribution to the development of novel spintronics devices and the creation of a new interdisciplinary field.