Left, a conventional spintronic device structure. Right, the new method proposed in the study. Credit: Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)<\/p>\n
Scientists have found a way to improve the efficiency of spintronic devices which are a key foundation of next-generation computing such as ultra-low-power memory<\/a> and neuromorphic chips<\/a>.<\/p>\n The newly-discovered physical phenomenon allows magnetic materials to spontaneously change the direction of their internal magnetisation by harnessing the loss of electron \u2018spin\u2019 as a natural source of energy.<\/p>\n In traditional electronics, computers perform calculations and transmit and store information by sending pulses of electricity. The presence of a pulse is recognised as a \u20181\u2019 and its absence as a \u20180\u2019.<\/p>\n Magnetic hard drives work a little differently. Tiny regions on a flat magnetic disk record 1s and 0s through the material\u2019s possible magnetic orientations: up and down.<\/p>\n Spintronics<\/a> combines both approaches by exploiting the charge of an electron, which is always negative, and its intrinsic magnetic property known as \u2018spin<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n The information (0 or 1) is written into the spin as a particular magnetic orientation \u2013 up or down \u2013 and is carried by the electron.<\/p>\n This requires less current, and therefore power, than conventional charge-based electronics.<\/p>\n In a conventional spintronic device, a large electric current is run through the outside of a magnet. This generates and drives spin into the magnet to switch its magnetic orientation. But some of the spin naturally dissipates and this reduces the efficiency of the process.<\/p>\n