Voltage-based magnetization switching and reading in magnetoelectric spin-orbit nanodevices.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38429273.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-45868-x and PMC identifier 10907725.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
As CMOS technologies face challenges in dimensional and voltage scaling, the demand for novel logic devices has never been greater, with spin-based devices offering scaling potential, at the cost of significantly high switching energies. Alternatively, magnetoelectric materials are predicted to enable low-power magnetization control, a solution with limited device-level results. Here, we demonstrate voltage-based magnetization switching and reading in nanodevices at room temperature, enabled by exchange coupling between multiferroic BiFeO<sub>3</sub> and ferromagnetic CoFe, for writing, and spin-to-charge current conversion between CoFe and Pt, for reading. We show that, upon the electrical switching of the BiFeO<sub>3</sub>, the magnetization of the CoFe can be reversed, giving rise to different voltage outputs. Through additional microscopy techniques, magnetization reversal is linked with the polarization state and antiferromagnetic cycloid propagation direction in the BiFeO<sub>3</sub>. This study constitutes the building block for magnetoelectric spin-orbit logic, opening a new avenue for low-power beyond-CMOS technologies.