Current-induced magnetic switching for high-performance computing

Abstract

Emerging spintronic technology is of great interest to overcome the power issue thanks to its non-volatility, high access speed and easy integration with CMOS process. Spin transfer torque (STT), a current-induced switching approach, not only simplifies the switching process but also provides an unprecedented speed and power performances, compared with the field-induced switching. This chapter is dedicated to current-induced switching spintronic devices for high-performance computing. Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), the basic element of magnetic random access memory (MRAM), and racetrack memory, a novel concept based on current-induced domain wall (CIDW) motion, are particularly investigated. These spintronic devices and circuits are based on the materials with perpendicular-magnetic-anisotropy (PMA) that promises the deep submicron miniaturization while keeping a high thermal stability. By using the accurate compact models of PMA STT MTJ and PMA racetrack memory, some magnetic logic and memory applications, such as magnetic full adder (MFA) and content addressable memory (CAM), are designed and analyzed. Their performance potentials in terms of speed, area and power consumption compared with the conventional circuits are also assessed.