Near-Landauer Reversible Skyrmion Logic with Voltage-Based Propagation

TL;DR

This paper proposes a voltage-controlled skyrmion propagation method that significantly reduces energy dissipation in skyrmion logic, approaching the Landauer limit, and demonstrates its potential for low-energy computing.

Contribution

It introduces a novel VCMA-based skyrmion propagation mechanism and demonstrates skyrmion logic gates with improved energy efficiency over previous current-driven methods.

Findings

VCMA-driven skyrmion logic dissipates ~6× the Landauer limit at 0 K

Voltage-based propagation enables lower energy dissipation

Potential for sub-Landauer dissipation through engineering

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are topological quasiparticles whose non-volatility, detectability, and mobility make them exciting candidates for low-energy computing. Previous works have demonstrated the feasibility and efficiency of current-driven skyrmions in cascaded logic structures inspired by reversible computing. As skyrmions can be propelled through the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect with much greater efficiency, this work proposes a VCMA-based skyrmion propagation mechanism that drastically reduces energy dissipation. Additionally, we demonstrate the functionality of skyrmion logic gates enabled by our novel voltage-based propagation and estimate its energy efficiency relative to other logic schemes. The minimum dissipation of this VCMA-driven magnetic skyrmion logic at 0 K is found to be $\sim$6$\times$ the room-temperature Landauer limit, indicating the potential for sub-Landauer dissipation through further engineering.