arXiv subjects

Supriyo Bandyopadhyay

Publications and source records attributed to Supriyo Bandyopadhyay.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum-Enabled Spintronic "Small" Antennas

Antennas transmit information wirelessly from one location to another via electromagnetic waves. Miniaturizing them, however, is challenging since the radiation efficiencies of all traditional antennas, based on the principles of classical electromagnetics, plummet when their dimensions are shrunk to tiny fractions of the radiated wavelength. Lately, a new generation of antennas whose operations are underpinned by non-classical principles have been demonstrated and they can overcome this limitation. This enables embedded applications that were hitherto inaccessible. In addition, beam steering, which normally requires a large phased array (multiple antenna elements each much larger than the wavelength), can now be accomplished with a single element much smaller than the wavelength. Some of these antennas also have stealth attributes for secure and covert communication, which makes this new genre a disruptive new technology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

An analog ac voltage amplifier based on a single straintronic magnetic tunnel junction

Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are known for their digital applications (memory and logic). A special class of them called "straintronic" magnetic tunnel junctions (s-MTJ) has lately emerged as a potential platform for analog applications because their conductance can be varied continuously with mechanical strain generated with a gate voltage. The conductance versus gate voltage (transfer) characteristic always has a linear region and that can be leveraged for a variety of analog applications. Here, we discuss one such application, namely analog voltage amplification. If the s-MTJ's gate voltage is fixed around the midpoint of the linear region and a small ac voltage is superimposed on it, then the ac voltage can be amplified without distortion as long as its amplitude is small enough to avoid gate voltage excursion beyond the linear region. Unlike a transistor-based voltage amplifier whose amplification is determined solely by the transistor's internal parameters - namely the transconductance and Early resistance - here the amplification can be varied by an external power supply voltage. We examine the maximum allowed amplitude and frequency of input signal for distortion-free amplification by modeling the magnetization dynamics and derive an expression for the amplification.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

A Compact XOR Gate Implemented With a Single Straintronic Magnetic Tunnel Junction

The XOR Boolean logic gate is widely used in many applications such as encryption (XOR ciphers), binary addition (half- and full-adders), error detection (parity bits), etc. but is challenging to construct because of its demanding conditional dynamics. It typically requires multiple logic switches or other types of gates, which results in a large gate footprint and low logic density. Here, we present the design of an XOR gate with a single straintronic magnetic tunnel junction which reduces the footprint dramatically. Such a gate is non-volatile and hence suitable for non-von-Neumann architectures, processor-in-memory, etc. The switching time of the gate is ~200 ps and the energy dissipation per gate operation is ~225 aJ. Cascading of successive stages is accomplished via a CMOS device which plays no role in the gate dynamics but is needed for gain to provide logic level restoration, fan-out and isolation between input and output. This 1 MTJ-1 CMOS design has an energy dissipation that is an order of magnitude smaller than what has been reported for traditional all-transistor XOR designs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Device Applications of Heterogeneously Integrated Strain-Switched Ferrimagnets/Topological Insulator/Piezoelectric Stacks

A family of ferrimagnets (CoV2O4, GdCo, TbCo) exhibits out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy when strained compressively and in-plane magnetic anisotropy when strained expansively (or vice versa). If such a ferrimagnetic thin film is placed on top of a topological insulator (TI) thin film and its magnetic anisotropy is modulated with strain, then interfacial exchange coupling between the ferrimagnet (FM) and the underlying TI will modulate the surface current flowing through the latter. If the strain is varied continuously, the current will also vary continuously and if the strain alternates in time, the current will also alternate with the frequency of the strain modulation, as long as the frequency is not so high that the period is smaller than the switching time of the FM. If the strain is generated with a gate voltage by integrating a piezoelectric underneath the FM/TI stack, then that can implement a transconductance amplifier or a synapse for neuromorphic computation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Topological Antenna: A Non-Classical Beam-Steering Micro-Antenna Based on Spin Injection from a Topological Insulator

Antennas are the quintessential means to communicate information wirelessly over long distances via electromagnetic waves. Traditional antennas have two shortcomings that have prevented miniaturization: (1) their radiation efficiencies plummet and (2) they radiate isotropically when miniaturized to small fractions of the radiated wavelength. Here, we report a new genre of non-classical antennas that overcome these limitations by employing non-traditional principles and harnessing topological insulators. An alternating charge current of frequency 1-10 GHz injected into a thin film of a three-dimensional topological insulator (3D-TI) injects a spin current of alternating spin polarization into a periodic array of cobalt nanomagnets deposited on the surface of the 3D-TI. This generates spin waves in the nanomagnets, which radiate electromagnetic waves in space, thereby implementing an antenna. The frequency of the electromagnetic wave is the same as that of the current. The antenna dimension is only 0.6-1.8% of the free space wavelength and yet it radiates with an efficiency several orders of magnitude larger than the theoretical limit for conventional antennas. Furthermore, it radiates anisotropically (despite being a "point source") and one can change the anisotropic radiation pattern by changing the direction of the injected alternating charge current, which changes the spin wave patterns within the nanomagnets because of spin-momentum locking in the 3D-TI. This enables beam steering without the use of a phased array. We have overcome several limitations of classical antennas by harnessing the quantum mechanical attributes of a quantum material, namely a 3D-TI.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

A Physical Unclonable Function Based on Variations of Write Times in STT-MRAM due to Manufacturing Defects

A physical unclonable function (PUF) utilizes the unclonable random variations in a device's responses to a set of inputs to produce a unique "biometric" that can be used for authentication. The variations are caused by unpredictable, unclonable and random manufacturing defects. Here, we show that the switching time of a magnetic tunnel junction injected with a spin-polarized current generating spin transfer torque is sensitive to the nature of structural defects introduced during manufacturing and hence can be the basis of a PUF. We use micromagnetic simulations to study the switching times under a constant current excitation for six different (commonly encountered) defect morphologies in spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) to establish the viability of a PUF.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

An Ultra-Sub-Wavelength Microwave Polarization Switching Antenna for Covert Communication Implemented With Directed Surface Acoustic Waves in an Artificial Multiferroic Magnonic Crystal

Polarization switches are of great technological interest because of their many applications in long distance electromagnetic communication (e.g., polarization division multiplexing). Binary bits can be encoded in the two orthogonal polarizations and transmitted from point to point. Polarization switches, however, are usually much larger than the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave that they transmit. Consequently, most research in this area has focused on the optical regime where the wavelength is relatively short (~1 micron), so that the switch being much larger than the wavelength is not too inconvenient. However, this changes in the microwave regime where the wavelength is much larger (typically > 1 cm). That makes a microwave ultra-sub-wavelength polarization switch very attractive. Here, for the first time to the authors' knowledge, such a switch made of an array of magnetostrictive nanomagnets (~100 nm lateral dimension, ~5 nm thickness) deposited on a piezoelectric substrate to make an "artificial multiferroic magnonic crystal (AMMC)" is reported. A surface acoustic wave (SAW) launched in the substrate with suitable electrodes excites confined spin waves in the nanomagnets via phonon-magnon coupling, which then radiate electromagnetic waves in space via magnon-photon coupling. In some particular direction(s), determined by the AMMC parameters, the polarization of the beam at a given frequency can be rotated through ~90 degrees by switching the direction of SAW propagation in the piezoelectric substrate between two mutually orthogonal directions via activation of two different pairs of SAW launching electrodes. By aligning the transmitter and the receiver along such a direction (known only to authorized users), one can communicate covertly from point to point, without the need for encryption or cryptography.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Adaptive Synaptogenesis Implemented on a Nanomagnetic Platform

The human brain functions very differently from artificial neural networks (ANN) and possesses unique features that are absent in ANN. An important one among them is "adaptive synaptogenesis" that modifies synaptic weights when needed to avoid catastrophic forgetting and promote lifelong learning. The key aspect of this algorithm is supervised Hebbian learning, where weight modifications in the neocortex driven by temporal coincidence are further accepted or vetoed by an added control mechanism from the hippocampus during the training cycle, to make distant synaptic connections highly sparse and strategic. In this work, we discuss various algorithmic aspects of adaptive synaptogenesis tailored to edge computing, demonstrate its function using simulations, and design nanomagnetic hardware accelerators for specific functions of synaptogenesis.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2025

An Unconventional Ultra-Sub-Wavelength Receiving Nano-Antenna Activated by ac Spin Pumping and the ac Inverse Spin Hall Effect

We report an extreme sub-wavelength unconventional receiving antenna. It consists of an array of nanomagnets connected to heavy metal nanostrips. Incident electromagnetic (EM) radiation generates intrinsic and extrinsic spin waves in the nanomagnets, which pump spin into the heavy metal nanostrips at their own frequencies giving rise to a polychromatic alternating voltage across the latter owing to the ac inverse spin Hall effect. This implements a receiving nano-antenna. We demonstrate its operation at two different EM wave frequencies of 1.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz - the latter being the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi frequency. We measure the receiving gain at 2.4 GHz to be approximately -9 db. The free space radiated wavelength "lambda" at 2.4 GHz is 12.5 cm while the antenna area A is merely 160 micron^2, making the ratio A/lambda^2 = 0.97x10^-8. This antenna's receiving gain should be very poor because of the tiny size. Yet the measured gain is more than 4000 times larger than the theoretical limit for a conventional antenna of this size at this wavelength because of the unconventional operating principle.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Ternary Stochastic Neuron -- Implemented with a Single Strained Magnetostrictive Nanomagnet

Stochastic neurons are extremely efficient hardware for solving a large class of problems and usually come in two varieties -- "binary" where the neuronal statevaries randomly between two values of -1, +1 and "analog" where the neuronal state can randomly assume any value between -1 and +1. Both have their uses in neuromorphic computing and both can be implemented with low- or zero-energy-barrier nanomagnets whose random magnetization orientations in the presence of thermal noise encode the binary or analog state variables. In between these two classes is n-ary stochastic neurons, mainly ternary stochastic neurons (TSN) whose state randomly assumes one of three values (-1, 0, +1), which have proved to be efficient in pattern classification tasks such as recognizing handwritten digits from the MNIST data set or patterns from the CIFAR-10 data set. Here, we show how to implement a TSN with a zero-energy-barrier (shape isotropic) magnetostrictive nanomagnet subjected to uniaxial strain.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Straintronic magnetic tunnel junctions for analog computation: A perspective

The straintronic magnetic tunnel junction (s-MTJ) is an MTJ whose resistance state can be changed continuously or gradually from high to low with a gate voltage that generates strain the magnetostrictive soft layer. This unusual feature, not usually available in MTJs that are switched abruptly with spin transfer torque, spin-orbit torque or voltage-controlled-magnetic-anisotropy, enables many analog applications where the typically low tunneling magneto-resistance ratio of MTJs (on/off ratio of the switch) and the relatively large switching error rate are not serious impediments unlike in digital logic or memory. More importantly, the transfer characteristic of a s-MTJ (conductance versus gate voltage) always sports a linear region that can be exploited to implement analog arithmetic, vector matrix multiplication and linear synapses in deep learning networks very effectively. In these applications, the s-MTJ is actually superior to the better known memristors and domain wall synapses which do not exhibit the linearity and/or the analog behavior.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Spin Hall Nano-Antenna

The spin Hall effect is a celebrated phenomenon in spintronics and magnetism that has found numerous applications in digital electronics (memory and logic), but very few in analog electronics. Practically, the only analog application in widespread use is the spin Hall nano-oscillator (SHNO) that delivers a high frequency alternating current or voltage to a load. Here, we report its analogue - a spin Hall nano-antenna (SHNA) that radiates a high frequency electromagnetic wave (alternating electric/magnetic fields) into the surrounding medium. It can also radiate an acoustic wave in an underlying substrate if the nanomagnets are made of a magnetostrictive material. That makes it a dual electromagnetic/acoustic antenna. The SHNA is made of an array of ledged magnetostrictive nanomagnets deposited on a substrate, with a heavy metal nanostrip underlying/overlying the ledges. An alternating charge current passed through the nanostrip generates an alternating spin-orbit torque in the nanomagnets via the spin Hall effect which makes their magnetizations oscillate in time with the frequency of the current, producing confined spin waves (magnons), which radiate electromagnetic waves (photons) in space with the same frequency as the ac current. Despite being much smaller than the radiated wavelength, the SHNA surprisingly does not act as a point source which would radiate isotropically. Instead, there is clear directionality (anisotropy) in the radiation pattern, which is frequency-dependent. This is due to the (frequency-dependent) intrinsic anisotropy in the confined spin wave patterns generated within the nanomagnets, which effectively endows the "point source" with internal anisotropy.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Stress Engineering of Thermal Fluctuation of Magnetization and Noise Spectra in Low Barrier Nanomagnets Used as Analog and Binary Stochastic Neurons

A single-domain nanomagnet, shaped like a thin elliptical disk with small eccentricity, has a double well potential profile with two degenerate energy minima separated by a small barrier of a few kT (k = Boltzmann constant and T = absolute temperature). The two minima correspond to the magnetization pointing along the two mutually anti-parallel directions along the major axis. At room temperature, the magnetization fluctuates between the two minima mimicking telegraph noise. This makes the nanomagnet act as a "binary" stochastic neuron (BSN) with the neuronal state encoded in the magnetization orientation. If the nanomagnet is magnetostrictive, then the barrier can be depressed further by applying (electrically generated) uniaxial stress along the ellipse's major axis, thereby gradually eroding the double well shape. When the barrier almost vanishes, the magnetization begins to randomly assume any arbitrary orientation (not just along the major axis), making the nanomagnet act as an "analog" stochastic neuron (ASN). The magnetization fluctuation then begins to increasingly resemble white noise. The full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of the noise auto-correlation function decreases with increasing stress, as the fluctuation gradually transforms from telegraph noise to white noise. The noise spectral density exhibits a 1/f^(beta) spectrum (at high frequencies) with "beta" decreasing with increasing stress, which is again characteristic of the transition from telegraph to white noise. Stress can thus not only reconfigure a BSN to an ASN, which has its own applications, but it can also perform "noise engineering", i.e., tune the auto-correlation function and power spectral density. That can have applications in signal processing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Reconfigurable Stochastic Neurons Based on Strain Engineered Low Barrier Nanomagnets

Stochastic neurons are efficient hardware accelerators for solving a large variety of combinatorial optimization problems. "Binary" stochastic neurons (BSN) are those whose states fluctuate randomly between two levels +1 and -1, with the probability of being in either level determined by an external bias. "Analog" stochastic neurons (ASNs), in contrast, can assume any state between the two levels randomly (hence "analog") and can perform analog signal processing. They may be leveraged for such tasks as temporal sequence learning, processing and prediction. Both BSNs and ASNs can be used to build efficient and scalable neural networks. Both can be implemented with low (potential energy) barrier nanomagnets (LBMs) whose random magnetization orientations encode the binary or analog state variables. The difference between them is that the potential energy barrier in a BSN LBM, albeit low, is much higher than that in an ASN LBM. As a result, a BSN LBM has a clear double well potential profile, which makes its magnetization orientation assume one of two orientations at any time, resulting in the binary behavior. ASN nanomagnets, on the other hand, hardly have any energy barrier at all and hence lack the double well feature. That makes their magnetizations fluctuate in an analog fashion. Hence, one can reconfigure an ASN to a BSN, and vice-versa, by simply raising and lowering the energy barrier. If the LBM is magnetostrictive, then this can be done with local (electrically generated) strain. Such a reconfiguration capability heralds a powerful field programmable architecture for a p-computer, and the energy cost for this type of reconfiguration is miniscule.

cs.ET↗

arXiv2024

Roadmap for Unconventional Computing with Nanotechnology

In the "Beyond Moore's Law" era, with increasing edge intelligence, domain-specific computing embracing unconventional approaches will become increasingly prevalent. At the same time, adopting a variety of nanotechnologies will offer benefits in energy cost, computational speed, reduced footprint, cyber resilience, and processing power. The time is ripe for a roadmap for unconventional computing with nanotechnologies to guide future research, and this collection aims to fill that need. The authors provide a comprehensive roadmap for neuromorphic computing using electron spins, memristive devices, two-dimensional nanomaterials, nanomagnets, and various dynamical systems. They also address other paradigms such as Ising machines, Bayesian inference engines, probabilistic computing with p-bits, processing in memory, quantum memories and algorithms, computing with skyrmions and spin waves, and brain-inspired computing for incremental learning and problem-solving in severely resource-constrained environments. These approaches have advantages over traditional Boolean computing based on von Neumann architecture. As the computational requirements for artificial intelligence grow 50 times faster than Moore's Law for electronics, more unconventional approaches to computing and signal processing will appear on the horizon, and this roadmap will help identify future needs and challenges. In a very fertile field, experts in the field aim to present some of the dominant and most promising technologies for unconventional computing that will be around for some time to come. Within a holistic approach, the goal is to provide pathways for solidifying the field and guiding future impactful discoveries.

cs.ET↗

arXiv2023

Tripartite Phonon-Magnon-Plasmon Coupling, Parametric Amplification, and Formation of a Phonon-Magnon-Plasmon Polariton in a Two-Dimensional Periodic Array of Magnetostrictive/Plasmonic Bilayered Nanodots

Coupling between spin waves (SWs) and other types of waves in nanostructured magnetic media has garnered increased attention in recent years because of the rich physics and the potential to produce disruptive technologies. Among this family of intriguing phenomena, we recently reported a new one: coupling between SWs and hybridized phonon-plasmon waves, resulting in tripartite coupling of magnons, phonons, and plasmons. Here, this acousto-plasmo-magnonic phenomenon is studied in a two-dimensional periodic array of bilayered [Co/Al] nanodots on a silicon substrate, where the Co is a magnetostrictive constituent responsive to magneto-elastic coupling and the Al acts as a source of surface plasmons. Time-resolved magneto-optical-Kerr-effect microscopy revealed parametric amplification and strong coupling between two spin wave modes mediated by a hybrid phonon-plasmon wave. The strong coupling forms a new quasi-particle: the phonon-plasmonmagnon polariton.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Low voltage local strain enhanced switching of magnetic tunnel junctions

Strain-controlled modulation of the magnetic switching behavior in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) could provide the energy efficiency needed to accelerate the use of MTJs in memory, logic, and neuromorphic computing, as well as an additional way to tune MTJ properties for these applications. State-of-the-art CoFeB-MgO based MTJs still require too high voltages to alter their magnetic switching behavior with strain. In this study, we demonstrate strain-enhanced field switching of nanoscale MTJs through electric field control via voltage applied across local gates. The results show that record-low voltage down to 200 mV can be used to control the switching field of the MTJ through enhancing the magnetic anisotropy, and that tunnel magnetoresistance is linearly enhanced with voltage through straining the crystal structure of the tunnel barrier. These findings underscore the potential of electric field manipulation and strain engineering as effective strategies for tailoring the properties and functionality of nanoscale MTJs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

A Spin Field Effect Transistor Based on a Strained Two Dimensional Layer of a Weyl Semimetal

Spin field effect transistors (SpinFET) are an iconic class of spintronic devices that exploit gate tuned spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor channels interposed between ferromagnetic source and drain contacts to elicit transistor functionality. Recently, a new type of SpinFET based on gate tuned strain in quantum materials (e.g. topological insulators) has been proposed and may have interesting analog applications, such as in frequency multiplication, by virtue of its unusual oscillatory transfer characteristic. Here, we propose and analyze yet another type of SpinFET in this class, which may have a different application. It is based on a Weyl semimetal. Because the operating principle is non-classical, the channel conductance shows oscillatory dependence on the channel length at zero gate voltage. Furthermore, the transconductance can switch sign if the channel length is varied. This latter feature can be exploited to implement a complementary device like CMOS by connecting two such SpinFETs of slightly different channel lengths in series. These unusual properties may have niche applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗