Hybrid CMOS/Magnetic Process Design Kit and application to the design of high-performances non-volatile logic circuits

Abstract

Spintronics (or spin-electronics) is a continuously expending area of research and development at the merge between magnetism and electronics. It aims at taking advantage of the quantum characteristic of the electrons, i.e. its spin, to create new functionalities and new devices. Spintronic devices comprise magnetic layers which serve as spin polarizers or analyzers separated by non-magnetic layers through which the spin-polarized electrons are transmitted. Typically, they rely on the Magneto Resistive (MR) effects, which consists in a dependence of the electrical resistance upon the magnetic configuration. These devices can be used to conceive innovative non-volatile memories, high-perfomances logic circuits, RF oscillators or field/current sensors. This paper describes a full Magnetic Process Design Kit (MPDK) allowing to efficiently design such CMOS/magnetic hybrid circuits. The latter can help circumventing some of the limits of CMOS-only microelectronics.