CHIRON · Spin Wave Computing for Ultimately-Scaled Hybrid Low-Power Electronics

The future miniaturisation of electronic circuits following Moore’s law will require the introduction of increasingly disruptivetechnologies to limit power consumption and optimise performance per circuit area. CHIRON envisions spin wave computingto complement and eventually replace CMOS in future microelectronics. Spin wave computing is a paradigm-shiftingtechnology that uses the interference of spin waves for computation. Spin wave computing has the potential for significantpower and area reduction per computing throughput while reducing cost by alleviating lithography requirements. As a firststep towards the vision of a full spin wave computer, CHIRON envisions hybrid spin wave–CMOS circuits that can be readilyintegrated alongside CMOS.CHIRON targets a proof of principle of the essential elements for spin wave computing by an interdisciplinary approachjoining partners with expertise in material science, physics, nano-manufacturing, electrical engineering, device simulation,and circuit design. CHIRON will fabricate basic logic gates, such as inverters and majority gates, demonstrate theiroperation, and assess their performance. As transducers between the CMOS and spin wave domains in hybrid circuits,CHIRON will develop magnetoelectric and multiferroic nanoresonators, based on nanoscale bulk acoustic resonators, whichbear promise for high energy efficiency and large output signal. The targeted lateral scale (100 nm) and resonancefrequency (>10 GHz) bring such resonators to the frontier of nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS).This technological proof of principle is complemented by the design of digital hybrid spin wave–CMOS circuits that show theadvantages of spin wave computing and can be integrated into a CMOS environment. Based on calibrated compact devicemodels, the performance of these circuits in terms of power, area, and throughput will be benchmarked against CMOS todemonstrate their viability.