Synthetic Antiferromagnetic Skyrmion Based Integrate and Fire Neuronal Device

The magnetic skyrmion has distinct features like nanoscale size, particle-like behavior, low driving current, and topologically stable that makes it a suitable candidate for neuromorphic computing such as synapses and neurons. In comparison to ferromagnetic (FM) skyrmions, Synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) skyrmions have opposite bilayer coupling effect that allow them to follow the straight path along the nanotrack. In this work, an integrate and fire neuronal device model is proposed based on SAF skyrmions with voltage control magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) barrier for the tunability of the device. The utilization of skyrmion-skyrmion repulsion has been employed to replicate the integrate and fire (IF) mechanism. The tuning of the device threshold determined by the maximum number of pinned skyrmions at the barrier is achievable by adjusting the current density applied to the nanotrack. The neuron spikes occur when skyrmion surpasses the barrier. By increasing the threshold parameters, the device’s operating current density can be reduced, leading to energy efficient. Moreover, the proposed neuron device has the energy dissipation of 0.19 pJ per spike operation thus, paving the path for developing energy-efficient devices in spintronics for next-generation neuromorphic computing.