MIT’s Electron Spin Magic Sparks Computing Evolution
March 16, 2024
An MIT team has achieved precise control of an ultrathin magnet at room temperature, a breakthrough that could pave the way for faster and more efficient processors and computer memories.
Experimental computer memories and processors built from magnetic materials offer the potential to consume far less energy than traditional silicon-based devices. Two-dimensional magnetic materials, consisting of layers just a few atoms thick, possess remarkable properties that could enable magnetic-based devices to achieve unprecedented speed, efficiency, and scalability.
Although there are still numerous challenges to address before these van der Waals magnetic materials can be integrated into functional computers, MIT researchers have made significant progress by demonstrating precise control of a van der Waals magnet at room temperature.
This development is crucial, as magnets composed of atomically thin van der Waals materials typically can only be controlled at extremely low temperatures, making them impractical for use outside a laboratory setting.
The researchers utilized pulses of electrical current to switch the direction of the device’s magnetization at room temperature. Magnetic switching can be utilized in computation, similar to how a transistor switches between open and closed to represent 0s and 1s in binary code, or in computer memory, where switching enables data storage.
The team directed bursts of electrons at a magnet made of a new material capable of maintaining its magnetism at higher temperatures. The experiment harnessed a fundamental property of electrons called spin, which causes the electrons to act like tiny magnets. By manipulating the spin of electrons that strike the device, the researchers were able to switch its magnetization.
According to the researchers, the heterostructure device they developed requires an order of magnitude lower electrical current to switch the van der Waals magnet, compared to that required for bulk magnets.
