  The progress in materials science has always been associated with the
development of functional materials systems, which enables us to design
proof-of-concept devices. To advance further, theoretical predictions of new
novel materials and their experimental realization is very important. This
chapter reviews the intriguing properties of rare earth-based materials and
their applications in spintronics. Spintronics is an emerging technology, which
exploits spin degree of freedom of an electron along with its charge property.
Discovery of various physical phenomena and their industrial applications in
the field of magnetic sensors, magnetic recording and non-volatile memories
such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and spin-transfer torque (STT)
MRAM opens several new directions in this field. Materials with large spin
polarization, strong spin-orbit coupling, and tunable electronic and magnetic
properties offer an excellent platform for the spintronics technology.
Combination of rare earths with other elements such as transition metals show
broad range of structural, electronic, and magnetic properties which make them
excellent candidates for various spintronic applications. This chapter
discusses many such materials ranging from Heusler alloys, topological
insulators to two-dimensional ferromagnets and their potential applications.
The review gives an insight of how rare-earth materials can play a key role in
emerging future technology and have great potential in many new spintronic
related applications.
