Ultra-Low-Energy Straintronics Using Multiferroic Composites

TL;DR

This paper reviews the use of multiferroic composite devices for ultra-low-energy computing and signal processing, highlighting their potential for energy-efficient memory, logic, and analog amplification at room temperature.

Contribution

It introduces the application of multiferroic straintronic devices for analog signal processing and voltage amplification, expanding their functional scope beyond memory and logic.

Findings

Devices dissipate ~1 attojoule energy per switch

Devices can operate as voltage amplifiers at room temperature

Potential for use in energy-efficient computing and signal processing

Abstract

The primary impediment to continued improvement of charge-based electronics is the excessive energy dissipation incurred in switching a bit of information. With suitable choice of materials, devices made of multiferroic composites, i.e., strain-coupled piezoelectric-magnetostrictive heterostructures, dissipate miniscule amount of energy of ~1 attojoule at room-temperature, while switching in sub-nanosecond delay. Apart from devising memory bits, such devices can be also utilized for building logic, so that they can be deemed suitable for computing purposes as well. Here, we first review the current state of the art for building nanoelectronics using multiferroic composites. On a recent development, it is shown that these multiferroic straintronic devices can be also utilized for analog signal processing, with suitable choice of materials. By solving stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of magnetization dynamics at room-temperature, it is shown that we can achieve a voltage gain, i.e., these straintronic devices can act as voltage amplifiers.