Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science have proposed a novel magnetic RAM-based architecture that leverages spintronics to realize smaller, more efficient AI-capable circuits.

(a) Structure of the proposed neural network, which uses three-valued gradients during backpropagation (training) rather than real numbers, thus minimizing computational complexity. (b) A novel magnetic RAM cell leveraging spintronics for implementing the proposed technique in a computing-in-memory architecture.   

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two technological fields that have been developing at an increasingly fast pace over the past decade. By excelling at tasks such as data analysis, image recognition, and natural language processing, AI systems have become undeniably powerful tools in both academic and industry settings. Meanwhile, miniaturization and advances in electronics have made it possible to massively reduce the size of functional devices capable of connecting to the Internet. Engineers and researchers alike foresee a world where IoT devices are ubiquitous, comprising the foundation of a highly interconnected world. However, bringing AI capabilities to IoT edge devices presents a significant challenge. Artificial neural networks (ANNs)—one of the most important AI technologies—require substantial computational resources. Meanwhile, IoT edge devices are inherently small, with limited power, processing speed, and circuit space. Developing ANNs that can efficiently learn, deploy, and operate on edge devices is a major hurdle.

Quantum computers based on spin photons and diamond promise significant advantages over competing quantum computing technologies, such as lower cooling requirements, longer operating times and lower error rates. The consortium of the BMBF project SPINNING coordinated by Fraunhofer IAF has succeeded in advancing the development of spin-photon-based quantum computers. The partners recently presented the interim project results at the mid-term meeting of the BMBF funding measure Quantum Computer Demonstration Setups in Berlin.

There are still several competing approaches to realizing quantum computers, each with specific advantages and disadvantages in terms of hardware and software, ranging from reliability and energy consumption to compatibility with conventional systems. Under the coordination of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF, a consortium of 28 partners is working on the project "SPINNING - Diamond spin-photon-based quantum computer" to develop a quantum computer based on spin photons and diamond. This should be characterized by lower cooling requirements, longer operating times and lower error rates than other quantum computing approaches. The hybrid concept of the spin-photon-based quantum computer also provides for greater scalability and connectivity, which enables flexible connection with conventional computers.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Center for Hybrid Organic Inorganic Semiconductors for Energy (CHOISE), an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Colorado Boulder, Duke University and University of Utah have discovered a new process to induce chirality in halide perovskite semiconductors, which could open the door to cutting-edge electronic applications.

The development is the latest in a series of advancements made by the team involving the introduction and control of chirality. Chirality refers to a structure that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image, such as a hand, and allows greater control of electrons by directing their spin. The researchers have been able to create a spin-polarized LED using chiral perovskite semiconductor in the absence of extremely low temperatures and a magnetic field, as was previously reported. The newest advance accelerates the materials development process for spin control.

Magnetic skyrmions have so far been treated as two-dimensional spin structures characterized by a topological winding number. However, in real systems with the finite thickness of the device material being larger than the magnetic exchange length, the skyrmion spin texture extends into the third dimension and cannot be assumed as homogeneous.

A 3D reconstruction of a skyrmion derived from X-ray images. Credit: Berkeley Lab

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Swiss Light Source (Paul Scherrer Institute) and Western Digital Research Center have used soft x-ray laminography to reconstruct, with about 20-nanometer spatial (voxel) size, the full three-dimensional spin texture of a skyrmion in an 800-nanometer-diameter and 95-nanometer-thin disk patterned into a 30× [iridium/cobalt/platinum] multilayered film.

In a recent sturdy, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Northern Illinois University discovered that they could use light to detect the spin state in a class of materials called perovskites (specifically in this research methylammonium lead iodide, or MAPbI₃). 

To understand spin, consider electrons orbiting the atomic nucleus. When atoms are close together, they can share some of their outer electrons, which creates a bond between them. Each bond contains two electrons that are ​“paired,” meaning they share an orbital — the region where they move. Now, each of these paired electrons has one of two possible spin states: spin up or spin down. If one electron is spin up, the other is spin down. Since we can’t know exactly which electron has which spin without looking at them, we say they exist in a quantum superposition — a state where they are both spin up and spin down until observed.

TDK Corporation has announced the development of a neuromorphic element called a “spin-memristor” that has very low power consumption. By mimicking the energy-efficient operation of the human brain, this element could cut the power consumption of AI applications down to 1/100th of traditional devices. Collaborating with the French research organization CEA (Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), TDK has shown that its “spin-memristor” can serve as the basic element of a neuromorphic device. 

Going forward, TDK will collaborate with the Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems at Tohoku University on the practical development of the technology.

researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have used new a experimental technique to measure heating in spintronic devices, allowing direct comparison to other effects. The researchers say that this technique can be used to select spintronic materials whose magnetic behavior is minimally impacted by heating, leading to faster devices.

"Spintronic devices depend on the ability to change magnetization using electric currents, but there are two possible explanations for it: electromagnetic interactions with the current, or the increase in temperature caused by the current," said Axel Hoffmann, project lead and Illinois materials science and engineering professor. "If you want to optimize the function of the device, you have to understand the underlying physics. That's what our approach helped us to do."

A team of researchers, led by University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor of Physics Enrique Del Barco, is working on a new project that aims to make  electronics faster and more energy efficient. The work is funded by a new $1.3 million award from the W.M. Keck Foundation, and the team includes researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, New York University and University of California, Riverside.

Today’s electronics, from smartphones to electric cars, generate large amounts of heat as electrical currents flow through their components. This heat not only wastes energy but also damages devices over time. The researchers are addressing this issue by developing materials that allow electricity to move through devices without creating heat, potentially transforming how technology is built and powered.

Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Latvia have announced "a breakthrough in antiferromagnetic spintronics" that could expand the nanotechnology’s capabilities, which have been limited by their need for excessive power. 

The team showed that introducing boron — a process called B-doping — into magnetoelectric oxides can control magnetic fields at the high temperatures prevalent in electronics. This long has been the “holy grail” of such research, said Christian Binek, Charles Bessey Professor of physics.

A Spanish-German collaboration recently studied graphene-cobalt-iridium heterostructures at BESSY II. The results show how two desired quantum-physical effects reinforce each other in these heterostructures, which could lead to new spintronic devices based on these materials.

Spintronics uses the spins of electrons to perform logic operations or store information. Ideally, spintronic devices could operate faster and more energy-efficiently than conventional semiconductor devices. However, it is still difficult to create and manipulate spin textures in materials. Graphene, a 2D honeycomb structure made of carbon atoms, is considered an interesting candidate for spintronic applications. Graphene is typically deposited on a thin film of heavy metal. At the interface between graphene and heavy metal, a strong spin-orbit coupling develops, which gives rise to different quantum effects, including a spin-orbit splitting of energy levels (Rashba effect) and a canting in the alignment of spins (Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction). The spin canting effect is especially needed to stabilize vortex-like spin textures, known as skyrmions, which are particularly suitable for spintronics.