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Magnetic logic demonstrated
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08/07/2008
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European researchers have demonstrated functional components that exploit the magnetic properties of electrons to perform logic operations, according to ICT Results. The researchers say the approach, which is compatible with existing microtechnology, may herald faster, smaller and more efficient electronics devices.
Magnetoelectronics exploits the magnetic properties or spin of electrons as well as their charge. In the presence of a magnetic field the electrons may point ‘left’ or ‘right’, which can represent bits of data, such as the binary digits 0 and 1.
The MAGLOG project has brought together leaders in the field of magnetoelectronics to adapt the technology not just for data storage and memory, but also for computation. The project partners describe it as ‘memory that can think’.
Input signals at each magnetic logic gate change the magnetisation of physical structures within the cell. The magnetic field affects the electrical resistance of the structures which can be measured with a readout of ‘true’ or ‘false’, or in binary a 1 or 0.
“The main goal of MAGLOG was to show that magnetic logic gates could be produced on a conventional cmos platform,” says project coordinator Guenter Reiss. “For successful commercialisation, it is critical that this novel method of data processing can be integrated into conventional chip technologies.”
One production approach uses lithography to etch structures within the ferromagnetic material to produce zones where the magnetic orientation of the material ‘flips’.
This switching between two states depends on input signals and thereby enables logical operations to be performed. Cells fabricated in this way use no silicon and require no multilayer processing – they can be manufactured at very low cost on flexible materials.
Another production approach for magnetic logic gates remains confined to high performance computing applications that require low power consumption, for instance battery operated devices such as mobile phones.
In this approach, magnetic tunnelling junctions are manufactured from alternating layers of ferromagnetic materials and insulators. This type of gate is said to be programmable, allowing the operator within the logic gate to be changed – for example, changing an ‘and’ gate to an ‘or’ function.
“The industry is crying out for reconfigurable computing to make microprocessors more efficient,” says Reiss. “We have one of the best demonstrations of reprogramming logic gates ‘on the fly’ and could enhance the performance of a central processing unit by a factor of 10 to 100.”
The programmability of magnetic tunnelling junction logic gates could also allow chip designers to manufacture generic chips that are then customised through logic gate programming.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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