Dynamical control of random telegraph noise in magnetic tunnel junctions

TL;DR

This paper investigates how mode-selective heating and cooling can be used to control and accelerate the random telegraph noise in magnetic tunnel junctions, enhancing their suitability for probabilistic computing.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for mode-selective thermal control of RTN and proposes nonlinear cooling mechanisms to improve switching speed in MTJs.

Findings

Mode-selective heating/cooling significantly tunes RTN frequency.

Nonlinear cooling accelerates switching dynamics.

Experimental pathways for nonlinear RTN control are outlined.

Abstract

Rapid random telegraph noise (RTN) in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is an important figure of merit for probabilistic computing applications. However, the interactions between the macrospin and spin waves with finite wave numbers reduce the RTN attempt frequency. We theoretically show that mode-selective heating and cooling can substantially tune the RTN frequency. We propose a nonlinear cooling mechanism that accelerates the switching dynamics. We outline experimental pathways to characterize the physics of nonlinear effects on RTN and to maximize the operation speed of MTJ-based probabilistic computing.