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High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
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Rotating edge-field driven processing of chiral spin textures in racetrack devices.
Alexander F Schäffer1,2, Pia Siegl3, Martin Stier3
1Institute of Physics, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany. alexander.schaeffer@physik.uni-halle.de.
Scientific Reports
|November 24, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a novel racetrack memory concept using local magnetization rotation, eliminating the need for global driving forces. This innovation enables efficient data storage and manipulation in magnetic devices.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Topologically distinct magnetic structures (skyrmions, domain walls) are crucial for data storage and logic devices.
- Racetrack architectures offer a promising approach for magnetic memory applications.
- Current methods rely on global electric currents or magnetic fields, leading to high energy consumption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a novel concept for racetrack memories that operate without global driving forces.
- To demonstrate the creation and propagation of magnetic structures using local control mechanisms.
- To explore energy-efficient and scalable magnetic memory designs.
Main Methods:
- Micromagnetic simulations
- Atomistic simulations
- Analysis of magnetization dynamics at sample boundaries
Main Results:
- Successfully demonstrated the creation and propagation of mixed sequences of magnetic structures.
- Established that local rotation of magnetization at boundaries can drive magnetic objects over long distances.
- Revealed the relationship between rotation chirality and propagation direction.
- Defined the operational phase space for this novel control method.
Conclusions:
- Local control of magnetization offers a viable alternative to global driving forces in racetrack memories.
- This approach significantly reduces current and field densities, enhancing energy efficiency.
- The proposed method is compatible with three-dimensional integration, paving the way for advanced memory architectures.
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