All-electrical skyrmionic magnetic tunnel junction

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chen, Shaohai; Lourembam, James; Ho, Pin; Toh, Alexander K. J.; Huang, Jifei; Chen, Xiaoye; Tan, Hang Khume; Yap, Sherry L. K.; Lim, Royston J. J.; Tan, Hui Ru; Suraj, T. S.; Sim, May Inn; Toh, Yeow Teck; Lim, Idayu; Lim, Nelson C. B.; Zhou, Jing; Chung, Hong Jing; Lim, Sze Ter; Soumyanarayanan, Anjan
• 署名单位: Agency for Science Technology & Research (A*STAR); A*STAR - Institute of Materials Research & Engineering (IMRE); National University of Singapore
• 刊物名称: Nature
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0028-5381
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07131-7
• 发表日期: 2024-03-21
• 关键词: current-driven dynamics; room-temperature; spin-orbit; magnetoresistance

摘要

Topological whirls or 'textures' of spins such as magnetic skyrmions represent the smallest realizable emergent magnetic entities1-5. They hold considerable promise as robust, nanometre-scale, mobile bits for sustainable computing6-8. A longstanding roadblock to unleashing their potential is the absence of a device enabling deterministic electrical readout of individual spin textures9,10. Here we present the wafer-scale realization of a nanoscale chiral magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) hosting a single, ambient skyrmion. Using a suite of electrical and multimodal imaging techniques, we show that the MTJ nucleates skyrmions of fixed polarity, whose large readout signal-20-70% relative to uniformly magnetized states-corresponds directly to skyrmion size. The MTJ exploits complementary nucleation mechanisms to stabilize distinctly sized skyrmions at zero field, thereby realizing three non-volatile electrical states. Crucially, it can electrically write and delete skyrmions to both uniform states with switching energies 1,000 times lower than the state of the art. Here, the applied voltage emulates a magnetic field and, in contrast to conventional MTJs, it reshapes both the energetics and kinetics of the switching transition, enabling deterministic bidirectional switching. Our stack platform enables large readout and efficient switching, and is compatible with lateral manipulation of skyrmionic bits, providing the much-anticipated backbone for all-electrical skyrmionic device architectures9,10. Its wafer-scale realizability provides a springboard to harness chiral spin textures for multibit memory and unconventional computing8,11. Wafer-scale realization of a nanoscale magnetic tunnel junction hosting a single, ambient skyrmion enables its large readout, efficient switching, and compatibility with lateral manipulation, and thereby provides the backbone for all-electrical skyrmionic device architectures.