Led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, the “Superspin” project aims to develop prototype devices that will pave the way for a new generation of ultra-low power supercomputers, capable of processing vast amounts of data, but at a fraction of the huge energy consumption of comparable facilities at the moment.
The project will be led by Professor Mark Blamire, Head of the Department of Materials Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and Dr Jason Robinson, Lecturer in Materials Sciences. They will work with Dr Andrew Ferguson from the Cavendish Laboratory and Prof Matthias Eschrig from Royal Holloway, London.
The collaborators say their work stems from the discovery of spin polarised supercurrents in 2010 at the University of Cambridge, as well as recent research that shows it is possible to power spintronic devices with a superconductor. They note that, although work is underway in several other countries to exploit superconducting spintronics, the Superspin project is unprecedented in terms of its magnitude and scope.
Prof Blamire and Dr Robinson’s vision is ‘to generate a paradigm shift in spin electronics, using recent discoveries about how superconductors can be combined with magnetism’. This, they say, will provide a pathway to making dramatic improvements in computing energy efficiency.
Dr Robinson added: “Many research groups have recognised that superconducting spintronics offers extraordinary potential because it combines the properties of two traditionally incompatible fields to enable ultra low power digital electronics.
“However, research programmes around the world are individually studying fascinating basic phenomena, rather than looking at developing an overall understanding of what could be delivered if all of this was joined up.”
Initially, the five-year project will examine ways in which spin can be transported and magnetism controlled in a superconducting state. By 2021, however, the team hopes it will have manufactured sample logic and memory devices.
“The programme provides us with an opportunity to take international leadership of this as a technology, as well as in the basic science of studying and improving the interaction between superconductivity and magnetism,” Prof Blamire said. “Once you have grasped the physics behind the operation of a sample device, scaling up from the sort of models that we are aiming to develop is not, in principle, too taxing.”
