Single-Spin Quantum Microscope Helps Researchers Tackle Processor-Memory Bottleneck

Insider Brief

• Researchers developed a spin transistor that combines data processing and memory in a single atomically thin device, potentially reducing the energy and performance costs of moving data within AI chips.
• The device uses two layers of chromium sulfur bromide and can be switched by either voltage or the relative magnetic orientation of the layers.
• Quantum microscopy showed how magnetism and electrical behavior interact in the transistor, which achieved an electrical on/off ratio of 1 million percent and a magnetic ratio of 3,000 percent.
• Image: The interior of a spin transistor during switching is captured by a scanning quantum sensor developed by Boston College researchers. (Brian Zhou)

PRESS RELEASE — Artificial intelligence faces an energy crisis, stemming from a physical traffic jam inside modern computer chips. 

Processors must continually shuffle data, such as the billions of parameters in complex models, between separate computing and memory nodes. This traffic jam, famously known as the “von Neumann bottleneck,” hinders the speed and energy consumption of advanced processors.

To tackle this problem, scientists are developing spintronics, which leverages the electron’s “spin,” or its intrinsic magnetic orientation, for more efficient devices. A long-sought milestone of this field is a single device, known as a “spin transistor,” that combines a magnetic bit with a semiconducting switch, allowing it to compute and store data simultaneously.