A magneto-mechanical accelerometer based on magnetic tunnel junctions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel spintronic accelerometer using magnetic tunnel junctions, offering a scalable, reliable, and potentially cost-effective alternative to traditional MEMS-based devices for various commercial applications.

Contribution

It proposes a new design for spintronic accelerometers utilizing magnetic tunnel junctions, addressing limitations of existing technologies with a scalable and reliable approach.

Findings

Demonstrates voltage measurement of acceleration via MTJs

Uses elastic and dipolar coupling as sensing mechanisms

Potentially competitive with current MEMS accelerometers

Abstract

Accelerometers have widespread applications and are an essential component in many areas such as automotive, consumer electronics and industrial applications. Most commercial accelerometers are based on micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) that are limited in downscaling and power consumption. Spintronics-based accelerometers have been proposed as alternatives, however, current proposals suffer from design limitations that result in reliability issues and high cost. Here we propose spintronic accelerometers with magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) as building block, which map accelerations into a measurable voltage across the MTJ terminals. The device exploits elastic and dipolar coupling as a sensing mechanism and the spintronic diode effect for the direct read out of the acceleration. The proposed technology represents a potentially competitive and scalable solution to current capacitive MEMS-based approaches that could lead to a step forward in many of the commercial applications.