Study reveals magnetic process that can lead to more energy-efficient
memory in computers

Date:
June 30, 2020
Source:
Virginia Commonwealth University
Summary:
Researchers have made an important advance that could lead to more
energy efficient magnetic memory storage components for computers
and other devices.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of California, Los Angeles have made an important advance that could lead
to more energy efficient magnetic memory storage components for computers
and other devices.


========================================================================== Magnets are widely used for computer memory because their "up" or
"down" polarity -- the magnetic state -- can be "flipped" to write
or encode data and store information. Magnetic memory is nonvolatile,
so information can be stored on devices without refreshing. However,
magnetic memory also requires a lot of energy.

A recently discovered magnetic state called the skyrmion, which is neither
"up" nor "down" but flower-shaped, offers a solution. Manipulating the
skyrmion state allows for much more efficient, robust data storage for conventional computers and wireless smart devices.

"Our finding demonstrates the possibility of controlling skyrmion states
using electric fields, which could ultimately lead to more compact,
energy efficient nanomagnetic devices," said Dhritiman Bhattacharya, a
doctoral candidate at the VCU College of Engineering and the lead author
of the paper, "Creation and annihilation of non-volatile fixed magnetic skyrmions using voltage control of magnetic anisotropy." The paper
published in the June 29 issue of the journal Nature Electronics.

Jayasimha Atulasimha, Ph.D., Qimonda Professor in the VCU Department
of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, is Bhattachayra's dissertation
adviser and corresponding author of the paper. The finding outlined in
the paper is "a steppingstone toward ultimately developing commercially
viable magnetic memory based on this paradigm," Atulasimha said.

In 2016 and 2018, the VCU researchers showed that using an intermediate skyrmion state to force precise magnetic transitions between the "up"
and "down" state could reduce errors in writing information to memory,
making devices more robust to material defects and thermal noise. They
hold a patent on this idea. The new proof-of-concept experiment presented
in Nature Electronics is the first step toward making such a device.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Virginia_Commonwealth_University. Original written by Rebecca Jones and Christine Wei-li Lee. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dhritiman Bhattacharya, Seyed Armin Razavi, Hao Wu, Bingqian Dai,
Kang L.

Wang, Jayasimha Atulasimha. Creation and annihilation of
non-volatile fixed magnetic skyrmions using voltage control of
magnetic anisotropy.

Nature Electronics, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41928-020-0432-x ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200630161551.htm

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