Picosecond magnetic tunnel junction

Order-of-magnitude faster switching

Spin-orbit torque enables picosecond electrical switching, surpassing the speed limit of conventional MTJs for high-bandwidth memory and in-memory computing.

Chen, Xiao · Zhang, Boyu · Zhao, Weisheng

Science Advances 2026

Specifications

Switching pulse width

{'zh': '13.2', 'en': '13.2'} ps

Energy consumption

{'zh': '30', 'en': '30'} fJ/bit

Speed improvement

{'zh': '1', 'en': '1'} order of magnitude

Advantages

An order of magnitude faster

The switching speed is reduced from hundreds of picoseconds to 13.2 ps, closing the speed gap between memory and processors.

Energy consumption down to 30 fJ

Energy consumption about 30 fJ per bit, suitable for high-density integration and energy-efficient applications.

Field-free operation

Deterministic switching is achieved without an external magnetic field, simplifying device structure and integration.

Multiple switching modes

From dc to picosecond timescales, switching dynamics evolve from thermally activated reversal to incoherent precession to coherent precession, providing design guidance for different speeds.

Applications

• High-bandwidth magnetic memory：Picosecond switching boosts memory bandwidth to match processor data rates.
• In-memory computing chips：High-speed, low-energy switching devices accelerate in-memory logic operations.
• SOT-MRAM devices：Overcomes the speed bottleneck of conventional SOT-MRAM, enabling field-free ultrafast writes.
• Spintronics：Reveals the evolution of SOT switching mechanisms across timescales, guiding device physics design.