{"id":186195,"date":"2025-08-30T02:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T02:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/186195\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T02:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T02:46:08","slug":"antiferromagnets-outperform-ferromagnets-in-ultrafast-energy-efficient-memory-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/186195\/","title":{"rendered":"Antiferromagnets outperform ferromagnets in ultrafast, energy-efficient memory operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Antiferromagnets<\/p>\n

Sample layout and measurement system. Credit: Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126\/science.ado1611<\/p>\n

Advances in spintronics have led to the practical use of magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), a non-volatile memory technology that supports energy-efficient semiconductor integrated circuits.<\/p>\n

Recently, antiferromagnets\u2014magnetic materials<\/a> with no net magnetization\u2014have attracted growing attention as promising complements to conventional ferromagnets. While their properties have been extensively studied, clear demonstrations of their technological advantages have remained elusive.<\/p>\n

Now, researchers from Tohoku University, the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have provided the first compelling evidence of the unique benefits of antiferromagnets.<\/p>\n

Their study shows that antiferromagnets enable high-speed, high-efficiency memory operations in the gigahertz range, outperforming their ferromagnetic counterparts. The findings were published<\/a> in the journal Science.<\/p>\n

The team used the chiral antiferromagnet Mn3Sn, whose spins form a non-collinear arrangement, as the medium for writing digital information. They fabricated a nanoscale Mn3Sn dot device and successfully induced coherent rotation of its antiferromagnetic texture using electric currents<\/a>. This enabled fast, high-fidelity control of spin ordering.<\/p>\n

The system achieved efficient switching with 0.1-nanosecond current pulses\u2014faster than any ferromagnetic device\u2014while requiring no external magnetic field<\/a>. Remarkably, the device demonstrated 1,000 error-free switching cycles, a level of reliability not possible in ferromagnets.<\/p>\n

\"Antiferromagnets<\/p>\n

(a) Switching probability versus current density and pulse width. (b) Illustration of switching (switching-back) dynamics through coherent spin rotation of chiral antiferromagnet (c) Demonstration of the 1,000\/1,000 switching. (d) Pulse width dependence of normalized switching current in chiral antiferromagnet, conventional ferromagnets and ferrimagnets. Credit: Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126\/science.ado1611<\/p>\n

“Achieving 1,000 switchings out of 1,000 trials with a 0.1-nanosecond current pulse at zero magnetic field has been unreachable for ferromagnets\u2014but turns out not to be the case for antiferromagnets,” said Yutaro Takeuchi, the paper’s lead author.<\/p>\n

“This antiferromagnetic advantage stems from a qualitative difference in their switching dynamics,” explained Yuta Yamane, who led the theoretical modeling.<\/p>\n

“In conventional ferromagnets, magnetization undergoes three-dimensional precessional motion. In contrast, antiferromagnetic switching is completed through two-dimensional rotation of the chiral spin structure with an effective inertial mass\u2014a key factor not seen in ferromagnets.”<\/p>\n

Shunsuke Fukami, the project supervisor, emphasized, “Researchers had shown in recent years that antiferromagnets can do what ferromagnets can do. Our work, for the first time, shows that antiferromagnets can do what ferromagnets cannot do.”<\/p>\n

These results mark a significant step toward next-generation semiconductor device technology powered by antiferromagnets.<\/p>\n

By unlocking ultrafast and energy-efficient switching without external fields, the research opens up new pathways for spintronics-based memory and logic devices, advancing the pursuit of high-performance, low-power electronics.<\/p>\n

More information:<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYutaro Takeuchi et al, Electrical coherent driving of chiral antiferromagnet, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126\/science.ado1611<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTohoku University<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAntiferromagnets outperform ferromagnets in ultrafast, energy-efficient memory operations (2025, August 29)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 29 August 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-08-antiferromagnets-outperform-ferromagnets-ultrafast-energy.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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