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SPINTRONICS

Spin torques join forces in a memory device

Nature Electronics volume 1, pages 576–577 (2018)Cite this article

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A combination of spin–orbit and spin-transfer torques could be used to create a versatile magnetic random access memory.

One such alternative is magnetic random access memory (MRAM). This type of memory was initially introduced to the market as a device that was switched by a magnetic field. However, a new incarnation of MRAM is now entering mass production in which switching is achieved by driving a current directly through the memory device (Fig. 1b) and exploiting an effect known as spin-transfer torque (STT). While promising for embedded applications where memory is directly integrated with logic, STT-MRAM suffers from a trade-off between speed and endurance (and density), which limits its wider potential for application. Overcoming this limitation could allow STT-MRAM to replace static random access memory (SRAM) — a fast but expensive type of memory used in central processing units. SRAM typically requires 6–8 transistors per cell and occupies a lot of chip space, often more than half of the processor die area. Replacing SRAM with higher-density, but equally fast, MRAM would revolutionize electronic chip design by increasing the amount of available memory in general-purpose, graphics and neural-network processors. Writing in Nature Electronics, Weisheng Zhao and colleagues1 tackle this problem by developing an MRAM cell that combines STT with another current-controlled write mechanism, namely spin–orbit torque (SOT).

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Fig. 1: Mechanisms of writing in magnetic tunnel junctions using electrical currents for magnetic random access memories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Electronics Research Laboratory (PERL), Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Pedram Khalili Amiri

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  1. Pedram Khalili Amiri
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Correspondence to Pedram Khalili Amiri.

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Khalili Amiri, P. Spin torques join forces in a memory device. Nat Electron 1, 576–577 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0164-3

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