Spin torque majority gate device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9947860-B2
Application number	US-201514970215-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2015
Priority date	Dec 16, 2014
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

The disclosed technology generally relates to magnetic devices, and more particularly to spin torque devices. In one aspect, a spin torque majority gate device includes a free ferromagnetic layer, a spin mixing layer formed above the free ferromagnetic layer, a non-magnetic tunnelling layer formed above the spin mixing layer, and a plurality of input elements formed above the non-magnetic tunnelling layer, where each input element has a fixed ferromagnetic layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spin torque majority gate device, comprising:
a free ferromagnetic layer;
a spin mixing layer formed above the free ferromagnetic layer;
a non-magnetic tunnelling layer formed above the spin mixing layer;
a plurality of input elements formed above the non-magnetic tunnelling layer, each of the input elements comprising a fixed ferromagnetic layer; and
an output element formed above the non-magnetic tunnelling layer and comprising a fixed ferromagnetic layer,
wherein the spin mixing layer is formed of a material having a spin coherence length that is greater than or equal to a maximum lateral distance between any two of the plurality of input elements.

2. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the spin mixing layer is formed of a material having the spin coherence length that is greater than or equal to the maximum lateral distance between any of the plurality of input elements and the output element.

3. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the spin mixing layer is formed of a material chosen from the group consisting of Cu, CuN, Au, Ag, and alloys thereof.

4. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the spin mixing layer is formed of graphene.

5. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an additional non-magnetic tunnelling layer formed below the free ferromagnetic layer; and
an additional fixed ferromagnetic layer formed below the additional non-magnetic tunnelling layer,
wherein a magnetic tunnelling junction is formed by at least portions of the free ferromagnetic layer, the additional non-magnetic tunnelling layer and the additional fixed ferromagnetic layer.

6. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the free and fixed ferromagnetic layers have an in-plane magnetization in which a magnetization orientation direction is parallel to a plane of the free and fixed ferromagnetic layers.

7. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the free and fixed ferromagnetic layers have an out-of-plane magnetization in which a magnetization orientation direction crosses a plane of the free and fixed ferromagnetic layers.

8. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the non-magnetic tunnelling layer is formed of a material chosen from the group consisting of MgO, Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 and Ta 2 O 5 .

9. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein a surface of the free ferromagnetic layer facing the spin mixing layer has an area that is smaller than an area of a surface of the spin mixing layer facing the free ferromagnetic layer.

10. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the free ferromagnetic layer and fixed ferromagnetic layers of the input elements and the output elements is formed of a material chosen from the group consisting of CoPt, FePt, CoFeB, TbCoFe, CoFe and NiFe.

11. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the fixed ferromagnetic of each of the input elements is configured to generate spin-polarized electrons in response to a voltage applied to a respective input element, and wherein the spin mixing layer is configured to mix the spins of the spin-polarized electrons passing therethrough, such that when a combined net spin of the spin-polarized electrons passing through the spin mixing layer and further through the free ferromagnetic layer exceeds a critical value, the free ferromagnetic layer undergoes a switching of an orientation of magnetization in the free ferromagnetic layer.

12. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 11 , wherein the fixed ferromagnetic layer of each of the input elements is independently configured to contribute a different amount of spin-polarized electrons of a total amount of spin-polarized electrons passing through the spin mixing layer.

13. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 12 , wherein switching of the orientation of magnetization in the free ferromagnetic layer results in the orientation in the free ferromagnetic layer that is parallel or antiparallel relative to the fixed ferromagnetic layer.

14. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 13 , wherein the orientation of the magnetization that is parallel or antiparallel relative to the fixed ferromagnetic layer corresponds to a logic state of the spin torque majority gate device.

15. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 14 , configured such that the logic state of the majority gate device is determined based on a current measured from the output element that is laterally separated from the input elements while being formed at the same vertical level.

16. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 1 , wherein the input elements are separated from each other, and wherein the spin mixing layer is contiguous across the input elements.

17. The spin torque majority gate device according to claim 16 , wherein the input elements are separated from each other, and wherein the non-magnetic tunneling layer is contiguous across the input elements.

Assignees

• Imec Vzw

Inventors

• Min Tai

Classifications

• H01L43/10

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L43/08

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01F10/3286 Primary

  Spin-exchange coupled multilayers having at least one layer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy · CPC title

• H01F10/329

  Spin-exchange coupled multilayers wherein the magnetisation of the free layer is switched by a spin-polarised current, e.g. spin torque effect · CPC title

• H03K19/23

  Majority or minority circuits, i.e. giving output having the state of the majority or the minority of the inputs · CPC title