Engineering Relaxation Pathways in Building Blocks of Artificial Spin Ice for Computation

Abstract

Nanomagnetic logic, which makes use of arrays of dipolar-coupled single domain nanomagnets for computation, holds promise as a low power alternative to traditional computation with CMOS. Beyond the use of nanomagnets for Boolean logic, nanomagnets can also be exploited for non-deterministic computational schemes such as edge detection in images and for solving the traveling salesman problem. Here, we demonstrate the potential of arrangements of thermally-active nanomagnets based on artificial spin ice for both deterministic and probabilistic computation. This is achieved by engineering structures that follow particular thermal relaxation pathway consisting of a sequence of reorientations of magnet moments from an initial field-set state to a final low energy output state. Additionally, we demonstrate that it is possible to tune the probability of attaining a particular final low-energy state, and therefore the likelihood of a given output, by modifying the intermagnet distance. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate a scheme to connect several computational building blocks for complex computation.

References in corpus (4)

• Artificial "spin ice" in a geometrically frustrated lattice of nanoscale ferromagnetic islands
• The 2014 Magnetism Roadmap
• Intrinsic optimization using stochastic nanomagnets
• Sub-nanosecond signal propagation in anisotropy engineered nanomagnetic logic chains

Cited by in corpus (10)

• 3D Nanomagnetism in Low Density Interconnected Nanowire Networks
• Synthetic chiral magnets promoted by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction
• Switchable X-ray Orbital Angular Momentum from an Artificial Spin Ice
• Crystallizing Kagome artificial spin ice
• Dependence of energy barrier reduction on collective excitations in square artificial spin ice: A comprehensive comparison of simulation techniques
• Vertex Dependent Dynamic Response of a Connected Kagome Artificial Spin Ice
• Writable spin wave nanochannels in an artificial-spin-ice-mediated ferromagnetic thin film
• Tailoring magnetization reversal of a single-domain bar nanomagnet via its end geometry
• Controlling degeneracy and magnetization switching in an artificial spin ice system of peanut-shaped nanomagnets
• Topological geometric frustration in a cube-surface artificial spin ice