Thermoplasmonic Nanomagnetic Logic Gates

In advancing beyond the von Neumann architecture, nanomagnetic logic offers an attractive approach to in-memory computation by exploiting the energy hierarchy of coupled nanomagnets. However, low-power operation is largely incompatible with deterministic logic, because the temperature required for fast operation reduces the coupling too much. This study overcomes that problem using local, selective plasmon-assisted photoheating of individual nanomagnets to drive a logic gate deterministically toward the desired low-energy output state, on nanosecond time scales. This approach demonstrates the possibility of computational metamaterials and could have immediate technological relevance.