Description du projet
Un matériau nanoporeux innovant ouvre la voie à la spintronique hautes performances
Le projet SPIN-PORICS, financé par l’UE, entend révolutionner les applications de la spintronique en intégrant des matériaux nanoporeux spécialement conçus pour améliorer l’efficacité énergétique. Le fait de remplacer le courant électrique par un champ électrique pourrait permettre de réduire la consommation d’énergie en réduisant au minimum la dissipation de chaleur et en contournant les problèmes liés à la déformation. Ces problèmes apparaissent généralement dans les dispositifs de stockage magnétique et magnéto-électroniques. Le contrôle de la tension permettra d’ajuster les propriétés magnétiques du nouveau nanomatériau composite à température ambiante. Ce matériau pourrait être utilisé pour l’enregistrement magnétique assisté électriquement, la commutation commandée en tension des mémoires magnétiques à accès aléatoire et les transistors à effet de champ à spin.
Objectif
This Project aims to integrate engineered nanoporous materials into novel energy-efficient spintronic applications. Magnetic storage and magneto-electronic devices are conventionally controlled by means of magnetic fields (via electromagnetic induction) or using spin-polarized electric currents (spin-transfer torque). Both principles involve significant energy loss by heat dissipation (Joule effect). The replacement of electric current with electric field would drastically reduce the overall power consumption. Strain-mediated magneto-electric coupling in piezoelectric-magnetostrictive bilayers might appear a proper strategy to achieve this goal. However, this approach is not suitable in spintronics because of the clamping effects with the substrate, need of epitaxial interfaces and risk of fatigue-induced mechanical failure. The exciting possibility to control ferromagnetism of metals and semiconductors directly with electric field (without strain) has been recently reported, but most significant effects occur below 300 K and only in ultra-thin films or nanoparticles. This Project tackles the development of a new type of nanocomposite material, comprising an electrically conducting or semiconducting nanoporous layer filled with a suitable dielectric material, where the magnetic properties of the metal/semiconductor will be largely tuned at room temperature (RT) by simply applying a voltage, via electric charge accumulation. The porous layer will consist of specific alloys (Cu-Ni or Fe-Rh) or oxide diluted magnetic semiconductors, where surface magnetic properties have been recently reported to be sensitive to electric field at RT. Based on these new materials, three technological applications are envisaged: electrically-assisted magnetic recording, voltage-driven switching of magnetic random-access memories and spin field-effect transistors. The obtained results are likely to open new paradigms in the field of spintronics and could be of high economic transcendence.
Champ scientifique
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringelectric energy
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicsspintronics
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringnanocomposites
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitution d’accueil
08193 Cerdanyola Del Valles
Espagne