Spintec is part of a European-funded ITN project called SPEAR: Spin-orbit materials, emergent phenomena and related technology training. The project, coordinated by CIC nanoGUNE, seeks to explore new materials for the next generation of computer memories and processors. six European academic institutions (CEA-France, ETH Zürich-Switzerland, IMEC-Belgium, U. Hamburg-Germany, Martin Luther University Halle–Germany, CIC Nanogune) and three European companies (ANTAIOS-France, QZabre-Switzerland, NanOsc-Sweden) are involved in the project.
The 4-year project will receive nearly 4 million euros in total. This funding will be used mainly to fund the recruitment and high-level training of 15 pre-doctoral researchers. Spintec will host two of them, offering a high level training in this blooming field of spintronics.
The research aims at finding new materials with strong spin-orbit coupling and to explore new associated phenomena in order to develop innovative devices. The project targets new generation of computer memories and processors working at ultra-low power using nonvolatile magnetic memories, such as MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory). These new materials and concept could also be used to substitute current silicon transistors based microprocessors, such as using spin logic or MESO logic architectures, for machine learning and neuromorphic computing, aiming at new functionalities and ultra-low power computing.
Contact at SPINTEC: Laurent Vila.
