High-Speed and Energy-Efficient Sense Amplifier.

Sense amplifier is a key element of memory and a CMOS-based spin hybrid circuit. Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is a key spintronic device used in spin-based memory and hybrid circuits. This paper presents a design of a voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy MTJ-based sense amplifier (VCMA-SA) that offers better reliability, power efficiency and high-speed performance. MTJ switching between different resistive states in this paper takes place through the faster and energy-efficient voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) scheme rather than the traditional spin-transfer torque (STT)-based magnetization switching. This paper demonstrates that SA based on VCMA-MTJ switching is faster, reliable and more energy-efficient compared with iPMA-based STT switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]