FuSe: Ultra-Low-Energy Logic-in-Memory Computing using Multiferroic Spintronics

非技术描述随着计算需求的爆炸性增长，计算的能源消耗是一个重大的全球挑战。如果目前的趋势持续下去，计算将很快成为占主导地位的能源消耗。对能源生产和储存的限制将限制关键应用的可用性，并阻碍新技术的开发。自旋电子学利用电子的自旋和电荷，提供了一种新的计算范例，可以应对这一挑战。该FUSE项目旨在通过集成材料研究、设备物理以及最终的电路设计和架构来实现新一代节能计算设备。这些装置将基于具有电和磁性能的材料，这些材料可以通过外部磁场控制，称为多铁性。该团队致力于培养下一代半导体劳动力。一批不同的研究生和本科生将接受跨学科研究培训，重点是那些在STEM中代表性不足的群体。PIS还将开发教育材料并参与K-12扩展活动，以激励广泛的受众。该项目探索在电压可切换的多铁性绝缘体中通过电驱动和检测自旋传输，作为超低能量记忆逻辑计算的基础。通过利用多铁性材料的相关性和非易失性，该团队的目标是大幅降低计算机的操作电压，使其大大低于当今互补金属氧化物半导体(CMOS)技术所能实现的水平，并实现变革性的内存中逻辑计算架构，显著降低内存和逻辑之间的通信成本。该项目寻求通过探索前所未有的维度、时间和能量规模的多铁性材料和设备来获得基本的理解和变革性的创新。该团队旨在通过整合自下而上的材料合成、制造和结物理研究，以及从系统和电路要求自上而下的研究，来应对工程挑战。该项目涉及开发先进的表征技术，包括光学光谱、电子显微镜和多铁性材料和异质结构的磁传输。此外，该项目还开发了电路仿真框架和参考电路设计，以在系统级别对多铁自旋电子学进行真实评估，并促进自上而下的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technical DescriptionThe energy consumption of computing is a significant global challenge, as the demand for computing explodes. If current trends persist, computing will soon become the dominant energy consumer. Limits to energy production and storage will limit availability of critical applications and hinder development of new technologies. Spintronics, which uses an electron’s spin as well as its charge, offer a new paradigm for computing that can meet this challenge. This FuSe project aims to enable a new generation of energy-efficient computing devices by integrating materials research, device physics and ultimately circuit design and architectures. These devices will be based on materials with electric and magnetic properties that can be controlled by external fields, called multiferroics. The team is committed to educating the next generation semiconductor workforce. A diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in interdisciplinary research, with a focus on those from underrepresented groups in STEM. The PIs will also develop educational materials and participate in K-12 outreach events to inspire a broad audience.Technical DescriptionThis project explores electrically driven and detected spin transport in a voltage-switchable multiferroic insulator as the foundation for ultra-low-energy logic-in-memory computing. By exploiting the correlation and non-volatility in multiferroic materials, the team aims to greatly reduce the operating voltage of computers substantially below what is achievable by today's complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and enable transformative logic-in-memory computing architectures with significantly alleviated communication costs between memory and logic. The project seeks to obtain fundamental understanding and transformative innovations by probing multiferroic materials and devices at unprecedented dimension, time, and energy scales. The team aims to address engineering challenges by integrating bottom-up research on materials synthesis, fabrication, and junction physics, and top-down from systems and circuit requirements. The project involves significant efforts to develop advanced characterization techniques including optical spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and magnetotransport for multiferroic materials and heterostructures. In addition, the project develops a circuit simulation framework and reference circuit designs, to realistically evaluate multiferroic spintronics at the system level and facilitate top-down research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.