Magneto-electric magnetic tunnel junction logic devices

Summary form only given. Magneto-electrics (MEs) are rapidly emerging as a key technology for applications in various beyond-CMOS spin based device technologies [1]. As the focus on ME materials has sharpened in recent years, there has been growing interest in implementing different spintronic devices that can take advantage of the full promise of these materials. The magneto-electric magnetic tunnel junction (ME-MTJ) is a device based on MEs that shows great promise for future memory and logic applications. In this device, switching is achieved by reversing the magnetization of the so-called “free” Ferromagnet (FM) of a magnetic tunnel junction. Specifically, the magnetization reversal is induced by means of the voltage-control of magnetism provided by a proximal magneto-electric (ME) layer [2]. Voltage control minimizes power consumption by making use of exchange biasing between the antiferromagnetic magneto-electric (ME-AFM) layer and the free FM. This makes the ME-MTJ an extremely low power device. It is expected to operate with a supply of +/- 0.1-0.2 V. The voltage-driven switching scheme of figure 1 introduces three-terminal transistor functionality to the MTJ, a device that has traditionally been restricted to two-terminal operation. The innovative feature of this device therefore derives from the control of the magnetic state of the free electrode by means of the exchange bias produced by the ME's boundary magnetization. Boundary magnetization at the ME-AFM layer interface has the inherent property of non-volatility [3]. This makes ME-MTJs attractive for memory applications.