Skyrmion-Electronics: An Overview and Outlook

The well-known empirical phenomenon known as Moore's Law has held true for the past half century. However, it is beginning to break down, owing to limitations arising from leakage currents caused by the quantum effect. As a result, the search for alternatives or complementary technologies that can aid the downscaling of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology has been accelerated in the field of electronics. Among various potential candidates, spintronic technology has attracted considerable interest and attention, especially for the topological spin textures known as magnetic skyrmions. Magnetic skyrmions are expected to have topologically protected stability and nano-scale size, and require a very low driving current density, therefore they are considered as potential building blocks for future spintronic devices and integrated circuits. Furthermore, recent experimental demonstrations of the control of individual nanometer-scale skyrmions, including their creation, detection, transportation, and manipulation at room temperature, further highlight their potential for future electronic applications. In this paper, we review the current status and outlook of skyrmions from the viewpoint of electronic applications. First, the fundamental and elementary functionality of skyrmions, such as electric write-in, read-out, transmission, and manipulation, are introduced. Then, potential electronic applications of skyrmions for nonvolatile memory and logic circuits are described with case studies. Finally, we conclude with an analysis of current challenges, limitations, and future trends of skyrmion research.