Complete magnetization reversal in a magnetostrictive nanomagnet with voltage-generated stress: A reliable energy-efficient non-volatile magneto-elastic memory

Rotating the magnetization of a magnetostrictive nanomagnet with electrically generated strain dissipates far less energy than any other rotation method and would have been the perfect choice for writing bits in non-volatile magnetic memory, except strain cannot ordinarily rotate the magnetization of magnet in a memory cell by more than 90° and “flip” it. Here, we describe a scheme to achieve complete 180° rotation with strain alone without having to precisely time the strain cycle. At room temperature, this writing method results in: (1) energy dissipation <6200 kT per bit, (2) write error probability <10−6, (3) write time of ∼1 ns, and (4) low read error.