Research underway globally seeks alternatives to current electronic computing technology, recognising the limitations of electron-based systems. Emerging from the magnonics field, a new information transmission method is showing promise. This involves using waves generated in magnetic media, not electron exchange. Historically, magnonics-based computing has been notably slow, but recent discoveries offer new prospects.
A significant new method discovered
Scientists at the University of Vienna, partnering with colleagues from Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and China, have made a critical breakthrough. Published in the journal Science Advances, they reveal a simple yet ground-breaking method for magnon computing. They discovered that increasing the intensity of the spin waves results in them becoming shorter and faster, presenting a substantial step towards viable magnon computing systems. Until now, shortening the wavelength required complex hybrid structures or a synchrotron.
Understanding the challenge of wavelength
In magnonics, spin waves, and their associated quasiparticles—magnons—are central. They propagate as waves through a material due to local disturbances in a magnet’s magnetic order. These magnons can serve as low-power data carriers in potentially smaller and more energy-efficient future computers.
The challenge lies in the wavelength; larger wavelengths lead to slower magnon-based data processing units. Co-author Andrii Chumak of the Vienna NanoMag team illustrates this, likening it to light: changing the wavelength alters the colour, and in this case, modifying the intensity of the spin waves effectively ‘changes the colour’—it shortens the wavelength.
The current system yields a wavelength of approximately 200 nanometres, but numerical simulations suggest that even smaller wavelengths are possible, although they are challenging to excite or measure at this stage.
Implications for magnetic integrated circuits
The amplitude of the spin waves holds significant potential for future magnetic integrated circuits. The researchers found that the newly discovered system exhibits a self-locking nonlinear shift, meaning that the amplitude of excited spin waves remains constant.
This consistency is critical for integrated circuits as it enables different magnetic elements to harmoniously operate at the same amplitude. Such uniformity is essential for building more complex systems and is a foundational aspect of the journey towards the realisation of a magnon-based computer.
Progress towards a magnon computer
While the ultimate aspiration—a fully operational magnon computer—remains unfulfilled, this research marks a solid and encouraging milestone. These discoveries significantly progress the scientific community towards this innovative goal, opening up new avenues and possibilities in the realm of magnonic computing.
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