Spintronics offers many advantages for magnetic detection: sensitivity, small size and CMOS integrability. It is therefore already industrialized for many applications, including automotive, cell phones... In the STORM project, the main objective will be to develop a new generation of smart spintronic sensors based on TMR using reconfigurable magnetic layers. Customized tuning will be achieved by the action of spin-orbit coupling induced torques of the appropriate materials, allowing manipulation of the magnetization in specifically designed sensor stacking. This will result in a novel class of smart magnetic sensors, which will be addressable and tunable throughout the sensor's lifetime, allowing to suppress offset drift, reduce noise, adjust range, operate in a closed loop... The consortium includes two academic partners and one SME with complementary expertises from fundamentals in spin-orbitronics to sensor design and testing for commercialization.

In METASPIN we envision a radically new low-power artificial synapse technology based on spintronics nanodevices that will prevent catastrophic forgetting, i.e. the loss of memory of previously learned tasks upon learning new ones, a major flaw currently faced by all artificial intelligence applications. We will develop a new class of neuromorphic hardware that will use magneto-ionics to support synaptic metaplasticity, i.e. a feature inspired by the human brain based on assigning a ‘hidden value’ to the states of artificial synapses to encode how important each state is. This will make it easier or harder to reconfigure the synaptic state upon learning a new task, giving a hierarchy to previously learned information and thus preventing catastrophic forgetting. The synaptic states will be given by the two magnetisation orientations in ferromagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and by ferro/antiferromagnetic order in materials where the two phases coexist. In all cases, magneto-ionic gating will be used to locally modulate intrinsic magnetic properties to assign ‘hidden states’ to each synaptic state. The magneto-ionic hidden states will translate into a modulation of the switching probability between synaptic states, introducing the metaplasticity functionality. In parallel, we will develop ANNs learning schemes, adapted to our device physics and inspired by biological synaptic activity, that can learn with mitigated catastrophic forgetting. The ultimate goal of this project is to integrate this advanced synaptic technology and learning algorithms into an ANN demonstrator to test multitask learning on proof-of-concept tasks inspired by medical AI, and assess the impact of metaplasticity in catastrophic forgetting.

ION4EDGE project introduces a revolutionary approach to edge AI computing with our ultra-low power, low latency and adaptable neuromorphic chips. By leveraging our patented ion beam process to customize magnetic tunnel junctions, we have developed a novel Analog in-memory computing architecture that mimics the synaptic metaplasticity of the human brain. Our technology overcomes both catastrophic forgetting and reduces device variability, two major challenges in current AI hardware especially for edge applications. By enabling a unique spintronic synapse architecture and continuous learning, ION4EDGE will transform edge computing by drastically reducing latency and power consumption compared to traditional architectures. We will pave the way for next-generation of AI applications including smart cities, healthcare, consumer electronics, and industrial automation, while contributing to Europe's technological sovereignty in the semiconductor industry.

Non-volatility is the main physical feature that fast memories, such as SRAM, are still lacking. Non-volatile memories could increase computing performance while reducing significantly the power consumption. The only viable option for sub-ns nonvolatile memory is the Spin Orbit Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (SOT-MRAM). The main roadblock towards the integration of the SOT-MRAM is that the reproducible bipolar switching requires the application of a static in plane magnetic field. “Zero-field” SOT switching is still a challenge, which motivates active research on this topic. Within the “SMART Design” ERC-StG project, we are developing an innovative approach for this problem. We discovered that it is possible to determine the switching polarity by the shape of the magnetic free layer. This approach meets all the physical requirements for the SRAM replacement (scalability, switching time, switching current…), but the nano-fabrication of devices with complex shapes using standard u-v lithography tools is difficult and expensive. Here we propose to develop an innovative fabrication technique, adapted for complex shapes, based on ion irradiation. The technology provider is participating to the project, while the potential end-user of this technology is an external collaborator.

MagnEFi is a training network of European experts assembled to provide enhanced training and education to early stage researchers on the topic of electric field effects on nanoscale magnetic structures. The goal is to train the next generation to work in this fast rising and key field of GreenIT. Electric fields may be applied to nanoscale magnetic structures in a variety of ways: either directly as a voltage gate, coupled via a ferroelectric or piezoelectric material that strains the nanomagnet, or using light. Addressing the effect of electric fields on the properties of nanoscale magnetic structures has become increasingly important in the search for efficient methods of manipulating nanomagnetism. Research in this area is expected ultimately to lead to ultralow power devices for computation and communication with new functionalities. The consortium that has come together to deliver this training is uniquely qualified to do so, consisting of world-leading experts in condensed matter physics and leading private companies, along with a range of associated partners spanning basic research, machine tool development, industrial and consumer products. The consortium provides a rich training environment that is both international and intersectoral, where the fellows will both study at the cutting edge of science and technology, and also come to appreciate the breadth of the field in terms of its intellectual challenges, commercial concerns and relationship to society’s need for ever more powerful information technologies with a reduced environmental footprint. This will enable them, in their future careers, to contribute to the strengthening of both the European Research Area and the European Information and Communication industry, particularly GreenIT, an especially important and growing sector for EU economic development.