No Arabic abstract
The coexistence and coupling between magnetization and electric polarization in multiferroic materials provide extra degrees of freedom for creating next-generation memory devices. A variety of concepts of multiferroic or magnetoelectric memories have been proposed and explored in the past decade. Here we propose a new principle to realize a multilevel nonvolatile memory based on the multiple states of the magnetoelectric coefficient ({alpha}) of multiferroics. Because the states of {alpha} depends on the relative orientation between magnetization and polarization, one can reach different levels of {alpha} by controlling the ratio of up and down ferroelectric domains with external electric fields. Our experiments in a device made of the PMN-PT/Terfenol-D multiferroic heterostructure confirm that the states of {alpha} can be well controlled between positive and negative by applying selective electric fields. Consequently, two-level, four-level, and eight-level nonvolatile memory devices are demonstrated at room temperature. This kind of multilevel magnetoelectric memory retains all the advantages of ferroelectric random access memory but overcomes the drawback of destructive reading of polarization. In contrast, the reading of {alpha} is nondestructive and highly efficient in a parallel way, with an independent reading coil shared by all the memory cells.
Memtranstor that correlates charge and magnetic flux via nonlinear magnetoelectric effects has a great potential in developing next-generation nonvolatile devices. In addition to multi-level nonvolatile memory, we demonstrate here that nonvolatile logic gates such as NOR and NAND can be implemented in a single memtranstor made of the Ni/PMN-PT/Ni heterostructure. After applying two sequent voltage pulses (X1, X2) as the logic inputs on the memtranstor, the output magnetoelectric voltage can be positive high (logic 1), positive low (logic 0), or negative (logic 0), depending on the levels of X1 and X2. The underlying physical mechanism is related to the complete or partial reversal of ferroelectric polarization controlled by inputting selective voltage pulses, which determines the magnitude and sign of the magnetoelectric voltage coefficient. The combined functions of both memory and logic could enable the memtranstor as a promising candidate for future computing systems beyond von Neumann architecture.
The magnetoelectric effects in multiferroics have a great potential in creating next-generation memory devices. We conceive a new concept of non-volatile memories based on a type of nonlinear magnetoelectric effects showing a butterfly-shaped hysteresis loop. The principle is to utilize the states of the magnetoelectric coefficient, instead of magnetization, electric polarization or resistance, to store binary information. Our experiments in a device made of the PMN-PT/Terfenol-D multiferroic heterostructure clearly demonstrate that the sign of the magnetoelectric coefficient can be repeatedly switched between positive and negative by applying electric fields, confirming the feasibility of this principle. This kind of non-volatile memory has outstanding practical virtues such as simple structure, easy operations in writing and reading, low power, fast speed, and diverse materials available.
Manipulation of tunneling spin-polarized electrons via a ferroelectric interlayer sandwiched between two ferromagnetic electrodes, dubbed Multiferroic Tunnel Junctions (MFTJs), can be achieved not only by the magnetic alignments of two ferromagnets but also by the electric polarization of the ferroelectric interlayer, providing great opportunities for next-generation multi-state memory devices. Here we show that a La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO)/PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3(PZT)/Co structured MFTJ device can exhibit multilevel resistance states in the presence of gradually reversed ferroelectric domains via tunneling electro-resistance and tunneling magnetoresistance, respectively. The nonvolatile ferroelectric control in the MFTJ can be attributed to separate contributions arising from two independent ferroelectric channels in the PZT interlayer with opposite polarization. Our study shows the dominant role of mixed ferroelectric states on achieving accumulative electrical modulation of multilevel resistance states in MFTJs, paving the way for multifunctional device applications.
Analogous to conventional charge-based electronics, valleytronics aims at encoding data via the valley degree of freedom, enabling new routes for information processing. Long-lived interlayer excitons (IXs) in van der Waals heterostructures (HSs) stacked by transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) carry valley-polarized information and thus could find promising applications in valleytronic devices. Although great progress of studies on valleytronic devices has been achieved, nonvolatile valleytronic memory, an indispensable device in valleytronics, is still lacking up to date. Here, we demonstrate an IX-based nonvolatile valleytronic memory in a WS2/WSe2 HS. In this device, the emission characteristics of IXs exhibit a large excitonic/valleytronic hysteresis upon cyclic-voltage sweeping, which is ascribed to the chemical-doping of O2/H2O redox couple trapped between the TMDs and substrate. Taking advantage of the large hysteresis, the first nonvolatile valleytronic memory has been successfully made, which shows a good performance with retention time exceeding 60 minutes. These findings open up an avenue for nonvolatile valleytronic memory and could stimulate more investigations on valleytronic devices.
Antiferromagnets have been generating intense interest in the spintronics community, owing to their intrinsic appealing properties like zero stray field and ultrafast spin dynamics. While the control of antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders has been realized by various means, applicably appreciated functionalities on the readout side of AFM-based devices are urgently desired. Here, we report the remarkably enhanced anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) as giant as ~ 160% in a simple resistor structure made of AFM Sr2IrO4 without auxiliary reference layer. The underlying mechanism for the giant AMR is an indispensable combination of atomic scale giant-MR-like effect and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy, which was not accessed earlier. Furthermore, we demonstrate the bistable nonvolatile memory states that can be switched in-situ without the inconvenient heat-assisted procedure, and robustly preserved even at zero magnetic field, due to the modified interlayer coupling by 1% Ga-doping in Sr2IrO4. These findings represent a straightforward step toward the AFM spintronic devices.