Electric field-induced magnetization switching in interface-coupled multiferroic heterostructures: A highly-dense, non-volatile, and ultra-low-energy computing paradigm

Abstract

Electric-field induced magnetization switching in multiferroic magnetoelectric devices is promising for beyond Moore's law computing. We show here that interface-coupled multiferroic heterostructures, i.e., a ferroelectric layer coupled with a ferromagnetic layer, are particularly suitable for highly-dense, non-volatile, and ultra-low-energy computing. By solving stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of magnetization dynamics in the presence of room-temperature thermal fluctuations, we demonstrate that error-resilient switching of magnetization is possible in sub-nanosecond delay while expending a minuscule amount of energy of $\sim$1 attojoule. Such devices can be operated by drawing energy from the environment without the need for an external battery.