SAW-MRAM

Reducing the energy cost of magnetic switching

SAW-MRAM tested whether surface acoustic waves can lower the magnetic field or current required to switch magnetic memory elements. It translated the group's magnetoacoustic results into device-oriented proof-of-concept experiments.

Main results

• Demonstration of a reduction of the coercive or switching field under acoustic excitation.
• Identification of the roles of SAW frequency, magnetic anisotropy, material parameters and device geometry.
• Measurements in Ni, CoPt, FeGa and antiferromagnetic CuMnAs systems.
• Combination of magnetoresistance, MOKE, FMR and micromagnetic modelling.
• Quantification of magnetoelastic coupling parameters relevant to switching optimisation.

Objectives and completion

The final report records full completion of the first three scientific objectives. The long-term reliability study was only partially completed, reflecting the time required for exhaustive cycling and endurance measurements.

Transfer potential

The project assessed how compact SAW components could assist MRAM and STT-MRAM switching. The final report also records work towards protecting an associated result.

Project team

The research team included Regina Galceran, Blai Casals, Antoni García-Santiago and Marius Costache. The work team included Marc Rovirola, Muhammad Waqas Khaliq, Júlia Òdena, Anna Castellví and Quim Badosa.

Publications resulting from the project

The list includes publications in which the project is explicitly identified in the acknowledgements or funding metadata.

1. Magnetoacoustic waves in a highly magnetostrictive Fe₇₂Ga₂₈ thin film. APL Materials 13, 021112 (2025). doi:10.1063/5.0237699

Preprints

• Chiral-phonon generation of orbital currents in light transition metals. arXiv:2512.08385 (2025). arXiv:2512.08385

Funding

Project PDC2023-145910-I00 is funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR.

AEI institutional visual identity