What is it about?
Our latest research explores an approach to create logic circuits utilizing magnetic structures, called domain walls, as information carriers within nanoscale magnetic tracks. This innovative computing architecture, exploiting the non-volatility and the collective behavior of magnetization, offers significant advantages in energy efficiency and compactness. In this article, we present the use of nanoscale structures called magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) to electrically write and read magnetic information (i.e., domain walls) at the inputs and outputs of these logic circuits. Our investigation includes a hybrid material stack combining the materials for both the magnetic tracks and the MTJs. In addition, we demonstrate an ion irradiation treatment that modifies the magnetic properties, enabling the implementation of logic gates within the magnetic tracks.
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Why is it important?
By offering a pathway to develop electrically controlled magnetic logic circuits, our research addresses a crucial gap towards practical applications of nanoscale spintronic logic. This advancement enables to leverage the full potential of spintronic logic, promising energy efficiency and high scalability.
Perspectives
This research is the result of a collaborative effort between IMEC (Leuven), KU Leuven and Institut Néel CNRS (Grenoble). The MTJ devices presented in this paper were fabricated using IMEC’s CMOS fab on 300-mm wafers, and the proposed ion irradiation treatment is compatible with standard integration processes. Therefore, our findings bring magnetic domain wall devices closer to practical applications, including racetrack memory, spintronic logic and neuromorphic computing.
Bob Vermeulen
IMEC
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Towards fully electrically controlled domain-wall logic, AIP Advances, February 2024, American Institute of Physics,
DOI: 10.1063/9.0000811.
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