Spintronics uses electron spin alongside electrical charge to represent and manipulate information. Its clearest established application is magnetic random-access memory (MRAM): a magnetic tunnel junction stores a magnetic state and lets a circuit read that state as an electrical resistance. Spin-based memory is nonvolatile, but spintronics has not broadly replaced conventional processor logic or SRAM.
What electron spin adds to conventional electronics
Conventional electronics generally encodes and moves information by controlling electrical charge. Spintronics—short for spin electronics—uses electron spin, a quantum property associated with a magnetic moment, as an additional resource. In devices such as MRAM, circuits still use electrical currents and voltages; the distinction is that magnetic orientation also carries information. IEEE’s spintronics overview describes the field and its use of spin to store, process, or transmit information.
The practical example to understand is a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), the central storage element in MRAM. Its magnetic state can remain after power is removed, so the memory does not depend on continuously refreshed stored charge.
How a magnetic tunnel junction stores and reads a bit
Two magnetic layers and an insulating barrier
An MTJ has two ferromagnetic layers separated by an extremely thin insulating barrier. One layer acts as a reference; the other, called the free layer, can be switched to encode a bit. The magnetizations of the two layers can be parallel or antiparallel.
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Resistance reveals the magnetic state
The junction’s electrical resistance depends on the relative orientation of the layers: parallel and antiparallel orientations produce different resistance. This effect is called tunnel magnetoresistance. A read circuit senses the resistance and interprets it as a logical state. The device therefore translates a stored magnetic orientation into an electrical signal. IEEE and imec describe this MTJ-based read mechanism.
Why MRAM is nonvolatile
MRAM stores information in magnetization rather than as charge that must be refreshed. The magnetic state can persist without power, which is what makes the memory nonvolatile. This describes the storage mechanism; it does not mean spintronics removes charge from the surrounding circuits. For background on MRAM’s development, see the 2020 IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices review.
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How STT-MRAM and SOT-MRAM write data
Both approaches change the free layer’s magnetization, but they deliver the write current differently. That difference also affects whether reading and writing share the same path.
| Write method | Current path | Read and write paths | Status described by cited sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| STT-MRAM (spin-transfer torque) | Spin-polarized current passes perpendicularly through the MTJ and switches the free layer. | The MTJ is used for both reading and writing. | IEEE’s overview describes STT-MRAM as commercially produced. This does not establish that every MRAM design is commercially deployed. IEEE |
| SOT-MRAM (spin-orbit torque) | Current flows laterally through an adjacent SOT layer, rather than through the MTJ; imec’s cited example uses tungsten. | The separate write layer and MTJ read path divide the operations. | Imec describes continued development and evaluation, including for embedded last-level cache—not broad replacement of SRAM. imec, 2018; imec |
Separating the paths is a design motivation for SOT-MRAM: imec identifies improved endurance and read stability as potential benefits. It is not a guarantee that every SOT design will outperform every STT design; performance depends on the device architecture and operating conditions.
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Where spintronic memory is used—and what remains prospective
The strongest supported application in the cited sources is nonvolatile magnetic memory. IEEE’s overview characterizes STT-MRAM as commercially produced, while imec presents SOT-MRAM as a technology being developed toward demanding memory roles.
In particular, imec describes SOT-MRAM as increasingly evaluated for embedded last-level cache, a prospective use rather than evidence of broad SRAM replacement. In 2018, imec’s Gouri Sankar Kar, then a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, said: “SOT-MRAM technology will help us to expand MRAM operation into the SRAM application domain.” That was a forward-looking statement accompanying a demonstration, not a claim that SOT-MRAM had already replaced SRAM. imec’s 2018 announcement discusses the motivation for exploring SOT at high switching speeds; its cache-focused article describes ongoing evaluation.
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MRAM’s existence also should not be confused with wholesale adoption of spin-based processor logic. The cited sources support MRAM as a memory technology and SOT-MRAM cache as an area of development; they do not establish that spintronics has broadly displaced conventional logic or SRAM.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to interpret reported speed, power, and endurance figures
Performance numbers in spintronics describe particular devices and experiments, not universal specifications for all MRAM. The distinctions matter because switching speed, power, and endurance depend on device structure and test conditions.
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- Imec’s 2018 SOT-MRAM wafer demonstration: The release reports reliable switching at 210 ps, endurance greater than 5×1010 cycles, and 300 pJ operation power for its demonstrated devices on 300 mm silicon wafers. These are results from that demonstration, not general product ratings. imec, 18 June 2018.
- Voltage-gated SOT-MTJ array experiment: A 2025 IEEE Transactions on Magnetics paper reports 0.3 ns switching and 76% lower switching power under a 1 V gate condition for its W-based perpendicular MTJs. It also reports a write error rate below 6.7×10−5 for the demonstrated array. Each figure belongs to that specific design and experiment, not to SOT-MRAM generally. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 29 April 2025.
- Historical capacity milestone: A 2020 IEEE review reports a 1-Gb MRAM device in 2019. That is a dated milestone, not a statement of today’s maximum MRAM density. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 30 January 2020.
These measurements show what particular designs demonstrated; they do not justify a blanket claim that spintronic devices are always faster, smaller, or lower-power than conventional alternatives.
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