Propelling van der Waals magnets towards energy-efficient spintronics

25th April 2024

Timing : 1 pm EST

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For a list of all talks at the NanoBio seminar Series Spring'24, see here


The unprecedented growth in computation around the world poses serious challenges to our energy-security and even contributes to global warming. Thus, new paradigms of computation, which are much more energy efficient, are a need of the hour. Spintronics, wherein computing devices harness electron spins for computation using magnetic materials, is a leading paradigm for developing highly energy-efficient computers for the future. However, traditional spintronics devices built using bulk magnets face challenges in scaling to advanced technology nodes which can be overcome using two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) magnets. Thus, integration of vdW magnets into spintronic technologies is key to developing the next generation of scalable and energy-efficient computing devices. This requires overcoming some crucial hurdles like enabling room temperature operation and field-free electrical control of the vdW magnets.

In this talk, Kajale discusses their group’s work in overcoming these hurdles. They have developed the first all-vdW device wherein the perpendicular magnetization of a vdW magnet can be switched deterministically using electric current pulses, without the need for any magnetic field, above room temperature (an increase of 120 C from the previous best). Their work also elucidates the role of symmetry in enabling field-free spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching of the vdW magnets while achieving one of the lowest switching current densities among all vdW magnet-based systems. These developments have opened the path for inducting vdW magnets into commercial spintronic devices to enable sustainable computing technologies for the future.

References:

Field-free deterministic switching of all–van der Waals spin-orbit torque system above room temperature
Shivam N. Kajale, Thanh Nguyen, Nguyen Tuan Hung, Mingda Li, Deblina Sarkar
Science Advances, 10, eadk8669 (2024)

Current-induced switching of a van der Waals ferromagnet at room temperature
Shivam N. Kajale, Thanh Nguyen, Corson A. Chao, David C. Bono, Artittaya Boonkird, Mingda Li, Deblina Sarkar
Nature Communications, 15, 1485 (2024)



Snow
Shivam Kajale
Ph.D. candidate
Nanocybernetic Biotrek group
MIT Media Lab

Shivam Kajale is a Ph.D. candidate in the Nanocybernetic Biotrek group at MIT. He has a background in electrical engineering and applied physics, and works on the development of “beyond-CMOS” spintronic devices for energy-efficient computation, using van der Waals magnets. His graduate work has tackled some fundamental issues in translating vdW magnets into spintronic technologies, by creating the first device for field-free electrical control of vdW magnets above room temperature. He received his Bachelor and Master Degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 2020, where he worked on modelling the interactions between surface acoustic waves and ferromagnets. Previously, he has also worked as a Research Intern at Purdue University and as a Digital Hardware Engineer at Intel Corporation.