Fluctuations in nanoscale magnetoelectronics devices

We analyze the quantum and thermal fluctuations in a magnetic nanoparticle that can be used as a component in magnetoelectronic devices and compare their influences on the basic modes of device operation at the nanoscale level. Within the framework of the effective Landau free energy constructed using a spin density functional approximation, we study the interplay between quantum and thermal fluctuations in different quantum numbers as the temperature and dimension of the particle are varied. Both theoretical and simulation results are presented for quantifying the quantum and thermal fluctuations. While quantum fluctuations hamper further miniaturization of todays electronic devices, our results suggest that the dominant factors affecting magnetoelectronic nanoscale devices are thermal fluctuations.