Logic based on magnetic tunnel junctions

Abstract

Logic gate arrays are electronic devices delivering an output voltage which is afunction of one, two or more input voltages. Usually, such circuits are made fromCMOS subdevices (transistors) which provide an output function defined by thelayout of the device. Thus such logic gate arrays are not programmable afterthe production and, moreover, they are volatile because inputs and output losethe information after power shutdown. Here, we describe the use of magnetictunnel junctions for the preparation of alternative logic gate arrays. These devicesare nonvolatile, i.e. keep the inputs and output after power shutdown, and theyare field programmable, i.e. the output function can be defined even ‘on the fly’during the operation. Potential drawbacks such as scalability and reproducibilitywill be addressed and possible solutions for these problems will be discussed.