Film Edge Nonlocal Spin Valves

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel nonplanar geometry for spintronic devices, specifically nonlocal spin valves, enabling significant miniaturization by reducing cell sizes to the nanometer scale, which could enhance high-density MRAM technology.

Contribution

It presents a new nonplanar device geometry that allows for smaller spintronic components, demonstrated with a nonlocal spin valve with reduced injector/detector separation.

Findings

Cell sizes can be reduced by an order of magnitude.

Device geometry enables operation with separation less than spin diffusion length.

Potential for high-density spintronic memory applications.

Abstract

Spintronics is a new paradigm for integrated digital electronics. Recently established as a niche for nonvolatile magnetic random access memory (MRAM), it offers new functionality while demonstrating low power and high speed performance. However, to reach high density spintronic technology must make a transition to the nanometer scale. Prototype devices are presently made using a planar geometry and have an area determined by the lithographic feature size, currently about 100 nm. Here we present a new nonplanar geometry in which one lateral dimension is given by a film thickness, the order of 10 nm. With this new approach, cell sizes can shrink by an order of magnitude. The geometry is demonstrated with a nonlocal spin valve, where we study devices with an injector/detector separation much less than the spin diffusion length.