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Quantum Landauer erasure using magnetic tunneling junctions
Chuncheng Wang1, Shuaitong He1, Zhiyi Sun1
1School of Sciences, Hubei University of Technology Wuhan 430068 China jehong@berkeley.edu.
Nanoscale Advances
|July 24, 2026
Summary
Researchers experimentally validated Landauer
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics
- Quantum Information Science
- Spintronics
Background:
- Landauer's principle establishes a minimum energy dissipation limit for information erasure (kT ln 2).
- Practical experimental realization of this fundamental limit in nanodevices has been challenging.
- Spin-transfer-torque magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs) are crucial for nonvolatile memory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally validate quantum-consistent Landauer erasure in a practical nanodevice.
- To bridge the gap between theoretical thermodynamics of information and experimental nanophysics.
Main Methods:
- Utilized spin-transfer-torque magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs).
- Combined quantum-classical micromagnetic simulations with experimental measurements.
- Employed magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) techniques.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated energy dissipation during quasi-adiabatic bit reset converging to approximately kT ln 2.
- Measured dissipated energy of (4.1 ± 2.0) zJ, closely matching the theoretical limit.
- Validated the quantum-consistent nature of Landauer erasure in the experimental setup.
Conclusions:
- The study provides the first experimental validation of Landauer erasure in STT-MTJs.
- This work offers an experimentally accessible pathway towards energy-reversible computation.
- Unifies thermodynamic and quantum aspects of information processing in a practical system.
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