High-speed metamagnetic resistive switching of FeRh through Joule heating

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates fast, electrically controlled metamagnetic switching in FeRh wires via Joule heating, achieving high-speed memristor-like behavior with potential for advanced computing devices.

Contribution

It introduces a method for rapid, electrical control of FeRh phase transition through Joule heating, supported by simulations and experimental validation.

Findings

150 K decrease in transition temperature with current

Switching speed on the order of nanoseconds

Performance compares favorably with existing memristive technologies

Abstract

Due to its proximity to room temperature and demonstrated high degree of temperature tunability, the metamagnetic ordering transition in FeRh is attractive for novel high-performance computing devices seeking to use magnetism as the state variable. We demonstrate electrical control of the transition via Joule heating in FeRh wires. Finite element simulations based on abrupt state transition within each domain result in a globally smooth transition that agrees with the experimental findings and provides insight into the thermodynamics involved. We measure a 150 K decrease in transition temperature with currents up to 60 mA, limited only by the dimensions of the device. The sizeable shift in transition temperature scales with current density and wire length, suggesting the absolute resistance and heat dissipation of the substrate are also important. The FeRh phase change is evaluated by pulsed I-V using a variety of bias conditions. We demonstrate high speed (~ ns) memristor-like behavior and report device performance parameters such as switching speed and power consumption that compare favorably with state-of-the-art phase change memristive technologies.