Electric-field-controlled MRAM using voltage control of magnetic anisotropy: Progress, scaling, and challenges

This paper discussed the development status and challenges of electric-field-controlled magnetic random access memory (MRAM) based on voltage control of magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) in magneto-electric tunnel junctions (MTJs). The use of electric fields for writing in VCMA-based magnetoelectric RAM (i.e. MeRAM) offers two potential advantages: nearly elimination of write currents hence achieving the lowest dynamic energy dissipation among nonvolatile memory technologies; and it does not impose a size limit on the access devices when integrated in a circuit hence allowing for much smaller overall cell area and better bit density. Beyond memory, the low dynamic power dissipation enabled by an electric-field-controlled operation also creates new opportunities for integration of voltage-controlled MTJs into logic and computing architectures.