Reconfigurable magnetoelectronic circuits for threshold logic

Magnetoelectronic devices, which combine ferromagnetic materials with conventional silicon structures, offer the potential to add non‐volatile storage to electronic systems, eliminating their vulnerability to data loss due to power supply interruptions. We present a set of circuits, based on the Hybrid Hall Effect device, that combine logic with non‐volatile storage. These circuits can be configured on a cycle‐by‐cycle basis to compute different functions of their inputs, store their outputs indefinitely even in the absence of system power, and can be easily integrated into CMOS systems to provide non‐volatile operation without requiring additional supply voltages or other global signals. They exploit the properties of the Hybrid Hall Effect device to efficiently implement threshold logic functions and thereby reduce the number of gates required to implement most Boolean expressions. In this paper, we describe our reconfigurable magnetoelectronic circuits and the interfaces that make them compatible with CMOS systems. The results presented are based on data from fabricated experimental devices, and we discuss how they can be expected to improve as devices scale to nanometer dimensions. Finally, we consider how magnetoelectronic circuits might be integrated into system designs to deliver high performance while tolerating power supply interruptions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.