Binary information propagation in circular magnetic nanodot arrays using strain induced magnetic anisotropy

Abstract

Nanomagnetic logic has emerged as a potential replacement for traditional CMOS-based logic because of superior energy-efficiency. One implementation of nanomagnetic logic employs shape-anisotropic (e.g. elliptical) ferromagnets (with two stable magnetization orientations) as binary switches that rely on dipole-dipole interaction to communicate binary information. Normally, circular nanomagnets are incompatible with this approach since they lack distinct stable in-plane magnetization orientations to encode bits. However, circular magnetoelastic nanomagnets can be made bi-stable with a voltage induced anisotropic strain, which provides two significant advantages for nanomagnetic logic applications. First, the shape anisotropy energy barrier is eliminated which reduces the amount of energy to reorient the dipole. Second, the in-plane size can be reduced (~20nm) which was previously impossible due to thermal stability issues. In circular magnetoelastic nanomagnets, a voltage induced strain stabilizes the magnetization even at this size overcoming the thermal stability issue. In this paper, we analytically demonstrate a binary logic wire implemented with an array of circular nanomagnets that are clocked with voltage-induced strain applied by an underlying piezoelectric substrate. This leads to an energy-efficient logic paradigm orders of magnitude superior to existing CMOS-based logic that is scalable to dimensions substantially smaller than those for existing nanomagnetic logic approaches. The analytical approach is validated with experimental measurements conducted on dipole coupled Ni nanodots fabricated on a PMN-PT sample.