Rotating ultra-low energy: the "best" integrated circuit in the world

According to foreign media reports, recently researchers from the Virginia Commonwealth University combined with cutting-edge technologies in spintronics and deformation electronics designed the world’s most rugged integrated circuits. They consume very little energy and can even be considered Need to provide external energy. According to the researcher's design idea, the proposed integrated circuit mode only requires a small amount of energy to run, and it is not even necessary to provide it with energy. Its operation can obtain energy from the surrounding environment, and the control integrated circuit is not a switch in the traditional sense, but is based on computer code 0 and 1. The problem with circuit storage is to use spin-up spins of spintronics electronics for storage.

Ultra-low power integrated circuits using electronic spin designs enable new sources of energy. The spintronics used in this IC are new ways to control the degree of spin of electrons, and electron spin is The intrinsic properties of particles in quantum mechanics, and spin can not be understood as the concept of autorotation in classical mechanics. The two are essentially different. For example, in-depth research on new materials such as magnetic semiconductors can better meet the requirements of conforming to spintronic devices.

Through the spin of electrons we will get a result of 0, and to convert to another spin method, we will get a 1 result. This conversion is achieved by using a magnetic field or by a spin-polarized current pulse. And in the process of switching, integrated circuits designed based on spintronics can operate with less energy than integrated circuits designed by common electronics. However, if the integrated circuit is to increase the speed of operation, and the processing power is close to the peak value, there will be energy loss. The energy itself comes from the surrounding environment. When the operating speed is maximized, the energy stored under this mechanism will be converted into magnetic energy. And send it out.

The solution to this problem was published in the AIP Applied Physics Letter. A special composite structure called a multiferroic material is used. The multiferroic special composite material is a versatile material for design miniaturization. The multiferroic material has a ferroelectric property and is also ferromagnetic and has a magnetoelectric composite function. The material has two properties, so it can produce a synergistic effect through ferromagnetic coupling and compounding. In the miniaturized design of electrical components, this is a widely used material with special properties.

These composite materials are intimately contacted by a layer of piezoelectric material onto a magnetically controlled nano-sized magnet, resulting in a change in shape. When a tiny voltage passes through the entire integrated circuit structure, a piezoelectric layer is created and this piezoelectric layer is transformed into a magnetically controlled deformation. The deformation produces a change in the direction of the magnetic field, thereby achieving flipping. With the right choice of materials, the dissipation of energy can also be minimized, thereby increasing the energy supply of the integrated circuit. The purpose of this study was to develop an extremely low-power-consumption integrated circuit with a high density and hard to lose magnetic logic and memory systems.