Compact Modeling and Evaluation of Magnetic Skyrmion-Based Racetrack Memory

Abstract

Racetrack memory (RM) has been considered as one of the most attractive nonvolatile memories in the future advanced computer architectures. Current RM is based on domain wall (DW) motion, which, however, has some intrinsic limitations, such as scalability, density, and energy consumption owing to the physical property of DW. Recently, magnetic skyrmion, one new type of spintronic object, has emerged as an alternative of DW in RM application. The advantageous features of skyrmion, such as nanoscale size, topological stability, as well as ultralow depinning current density, make it promising as an information carrier in the future ultradense, high-speed, and low-power electronics in addition to RM design. In this paper, we primarily investigate the prospects of the skyrmion-based RM (Sky-RM). We developed a physics-based compact model for Sky-RM electronic design and performance evaluation. Experimentalmaterial parameterswere included and micromagnetic investigations were carried out simultaneously to calibrate the accuracy of the model. Using the developed model, hybrid simulations were performed to evaluate the Sky-RM performance, in comparison with the DW-based RM (DW-RM). Our results show that Sky-RM outperforms DW-RM in terms of storage density and energy efficiency.