Circuit is based on magnetic quasiparticles
The physicists are working on a new generation of circuits under junior professor Dr. Andrii Chumak from the chair of magnetism at the TUK. Their somewhat exotic research field is spinwaves. “These can transport information in the form of intrinsic angular momentum in magnetic materials,” explains Chumak. “These quantum particles are magnons.” They can transport much more information than electrons, but consume much less energy and thus generate less waste heat. This makes them interesting for faster and more powerful computers, for example.
In a recent study, the scientists describe for the first time a so-called integrated magnonic circuit in which information is transmitted by means of these particles. As with conventional electronic circuits, conductors and line crossings are required to connect the elements. In their simulation, the researchers succeeded in developing such a crossroads for magnons. For this purpose, they included in their calculations a phenomenon that is already known in physics and is used for the first time in magnonics: When two magnon conductors are placed extremely close to each other, a phenomenon similar to crosstalk in conventional data lines occurs, i. e. the energy of the waves is transferred from one conductor to the other”.
This effect has been used in optics for a long time, for example to transmit information between optical fibers. It is also used by the “Nano-Magnonics” team for the wiring of switching elements on a magnonic chip in a new way. The special feature here is that you do not need a three-dimensional bridge construction for the cable crossings. In classical circuits, this is necessary to ensure the flow of electrons between several elements. “In our circuitry, we use two-dimensional flat wiring where the magnon conductors only have to be placed closely together,” says Qi Wang, the first author of the study. The researchers refer this connection point as directional couplers. With the help of this directional coupler, they now intend to build a first magnonic circuit.
For the future production of computer components, for example, these new types of circuitry could help to significantly save material and thus costs. In addition, the size of the simulated components is in the nanometer range, which is comparable to modern electronic components. However, the information density of magnons is much higher.
In 2016, junior professor Chumak received an ERC Starting Grant, one of the EU’s highest research awards, for his work in the field of magnons. The study was published in the journal Science Advances (“Reconfigurable nanoscale spin-wave directional coupler”) .
More information: chumak[at]physik.uni-kl.de
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