Memory

Researchers from at Southern University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University and other institutes recently reported a spintronic compute-in-memory (CIM) macro designed to improve computational efficiency in artificial intelligence hardware. The device is a 64-kb non-volatile digital CIM macro fabricated using 40-nm spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) technology, which stores information through the magnetic orientation of nanometer-scale layers.

Conventional computing architectures separate memory and processing units, requiring frequent data transfer that increases latency and energy consumption. CIM designs address this limitation by integrating storage and computation, though most prior implementations have relied on analog operations that constrain accuracy, scalability, and robustness. The newly developed digital CIM architecture addresses these limitations by combining the endurance and non-volatility of STT-MRAM with digitally controlled computation.

An international research team that included researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Kyushu University and DGIST has developed a new fabrication method for energy-efficient magnetic random-access memory (MRAM). The new method relies on a material called thulium iron garnet (TmIG) which has been attracting global attention for its ability to enable high-speed, low-power information rewriting at room temperature. 

The team hopes these new findings will lead to significant improvements in the speed and power efficiency of high-computing hardware, such as those used to power generative AI.

Antiferromagnets are attracting growing attention as promising complements to conventional ferromagnets. While their properties have been extensively studied, clear demonstrations of their technological advantages have remained elusive. Now, researchers from Tohoku University, the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) managed to provide compelling evidence of the unique benefits of antiferromagnets. Their recent study shows that antiferromagnets enable high-speed, high-efficiency memory operations in the gigahertz range, outperforming their ferromagnetic counterparts.

The team used the chiral antiferromagnet Mn₃Sn, whose spins form a non-collinear arrangement, as the medium for writing digital information. They fabricated a nanoscale Mn₃Sn dot device and successfully induced coherent rotation of its antiferromagnetic texture using electric currents. This enabled fast, high-fidelity control of spin ordering.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a new program, “postw90-spin,” that enables high-precision calculations of a novel performance indicator for the spin Hall effect, a phenomenon crucial for developing energy-efficient and high-speed next-generation magnetic memory devices. 

This achievement addresses a long-standing challenge in spintronics research by providing a definitive measure of the spin Hall effect, overcoming ambiguities associated with traditional metrics.

A team of University of Minnesota researchers recently demonstrated a more efficient way to control magnetization in tiny electronic devices using a material called Ni₄W–a combination of nickel and tungsten. 

The team found that this low-symmetry material produces powerful spin-orbit torque (SOT)—a key mechanism for manipulating magnetism in next-generation memory and logic technologies.

Researchers at Osaka University have reported a technique for recovering magnetism in a degraded spintronics device. This method can be applied to improve the robustness of next-generation semiconductor memory.

Spintronics exploits the spin (and charge) of electrons to process and store memory, which is achieved practically by stacking layers of thin material films that behave differently under the influence of a magnetic field. “These devices can be non-volatile, low-power, and robust, but the manufacturing process can cause their magnetic properties to deteriorate,” explains Tomohiro Koyama, lead author of the study. The thin films required for these devices are often formed via sputtering, in which atoms are extracted and deposited onto a substrate. This process, however, can often lead to the magnetic layer becoming oxidized, spoiling its magnetic properties.

Scientists from TU Delft National Institute for Materials Science, University of Valencia, University of Regensburg and Harvard University have observed quantum spin currents in graphene for the first time without using magnetic fields. These currents are important for spintronics and could promote technologies like quantum computing and advanced memory devices.

Quantum physicist Talieh Ghiasi has demonstrated the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect in graphene for the first time without any external magnetic fields. The QSH effect causes electrons to move along the edges of the graphene without any disruption, with all their spins pointing in the same direction. “Spin is a quantum mechanical property of electrons, which is like a tiny magnet carried by the electrons, pointing up or down”, Ghiasi explains. “We can leverage the spin of electrons to transfer and process information in so-called spintronics devices. Such circuits hold promise for next-generation technologies, including faster and more energy-efficient electronics, quantum computing, and advanced memory devices.”

Researchers at MIT, Università degli Studi "Gabriele d'Annunzio", Yale University, Drexel University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated a new form of magnetism that could one day be harnessed to build faster, denser, and less power-hungry spintronic memory chips.

The new magnetic state is a hybrid of two main forms of magnetism: the ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. Now, the MIT team has demonstrated a new form of magnetism, termed “p-wave magnetism.”

Researchers at National Taiwan University have developed a new type of spintronic device that mimics how synapses work in the brain—offering a path to more energy-efficient and accurate artificial intelligence systems.

In their recent study, the team introduced three novel memory device designs, all controlled purely by electric current and without any need for an external magnetic field. Among the devices, the one based on “tilted anisotropy” stood out. This optimized structure was able to achieve 11 stable memory states with highly consistent switching behavior.

The University of California, Riverside, according to reports, has been awarded nearly $4 million through the UC National Laboratory Fees Research Program to lead a major research initiative in antiferromagnetic spintronics. Over the next three years, the project will explore how antiferromagnetic materials can be used to push the boundaries of modern microelectronics.

“The semiconductor microelectronics industry is looking for new materials, new phenomena, and new mechanisms to sustain technological advances,” said Jing Shi, a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at UCR and the award’s principal investigator. “With co-principal investigators at UC San Diego, UC Davis, UCLA, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we aim to cement the University of California’s leadership in this area and obtain extramural center and group funding in the near future.”