%0 Journal Article
%T Magnetic Skyrmion Racetrack Memory: from Physics to Electronics
%A Wang Kang
%A Yangqi Huang
%A Chentian Zheng
%A Weifeng Lv
%A Na Lei
%A Youguang Zhang
%A Xichao Zhang
%A Yan Zhou
%A Weisheng Zhao
%J Physics
%D 2015
%I arXiv
%X Magnetic skyrmions, vortex-like swirling topologically stable spin configurations, are appealing as information carrier for potential applications in future spintronics, owing to their stability, small size and extremely low driving current density. One of the most promising applications of magnetic skyrmion is to build racetrack memory (RM). Current research mainly focuses on physical or conceptual investigations, whereas the electrical design and evaluation are still lacking. In this work, we aim to promote the development of the skyrmion-based racetrack memory (Sky-RM) from fundamental physics to realistic electronics. Firstly, we illustrate the elementary functions (i.e., nucleation, motion and detection) of the Sky-RM from a physical perspective. Then we propose the corresponding electrical model and design framework of the Sky-RM for electrical implementation and evaluation. Both the micromagnetic and electrical simulations are performed to evaluate the Sky-RM functionality and performance. Our results demonstrate that the proposed Sky-RM has advantageous features in terms of low power (sub pJ/skyrmion), high velocity (> 60 m/s) and high density (racetrack width < 40 nm), etc. This work fills the technical gap between the physicists and electronic engineers, making a significant step forward for the development of Sky-RM and triggering more researches in the direction of Skyrmionics.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1507.08001v2