Encrypted Information Storage using Spin Memory
Opportunity
Available for Licensing
TRL: 4
IP Status
US Utility Patent Pending (Not Yet Published)
Inventors
Kristen S. Buchanan
Xuemei Cheng
Xiao Wang
At A Glance
Researchers at Colorado State University in collaboration with Bryn Mawr College have developed novel systems and methods for encryption of non-volatile information storage based on a topological spin memory effect in magnetic thin films. Such endeavors have received much attention in recent research due to their theoretical minimization of data storage, logic devices, and processing electronics.
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Background
Magnetic skyrmions are small swirling magnetic quasiparticles with topological protection. Skyrmions may be observed in thin films with large Dzyaloshinskii‐Moriya interactions (DMIs or antisymmetric magnetic exchange) and perpendicular anisotropy. They have unique spin textures with a well‐defined topological charge of +/‐ 1. Because of the skyrmion topology, transforming from a skyrmion to a uniform magnetic state, i.e., erasing the skyrmions, is difficult. Due to this inherent stability, skyrmions are promising candidates for data‐storage solutions and other computing devices.
Skyrmion‐based data‐storage and logic applications usually require one or more of the following operations: creating/generating skyrmion, moving a skyrmion, switching, detecting a skyrmion, and erasing a skyrmion. Systems and methods to encrypt and decrypt information are of great interest generally, and would be a desirable attribute of skyrmion‐based storage and logic devices. However, systems, mechanisms, and methods for such encryption using skyrmions have yet to be described.
Benefits
- Simpler than other encryption techniques
- Much smaller scale than other technologies
- Very robust
Applications
- Data storage
- Encryption
- Logic devices
- Computing technologies
Last updated: April 2022