The topologically protected magnetic spin configurations known as Skyrmions offer promising applications due to their stability, mobility, and localization. We emphasize how to leverage the thermally driven dynamics of an ensemble of such particles to perform computing tasks. We propose a device employing a Skyrmion gas to reshuffle a random signal into an uncorrelated copy of itself. This device is demonstrated by modeling the ensemble dynamics in a collective coordinate approach where Skyrmion-Skyrmion and Skyrmion-boundary interactions are accounted for phenomenologically. Our numerical results are used to develop a proof of concept for an energy efficient (approximately in the range of microwatts) device with a low area imprint (roughly on the order of μm^2). Whereas its immediate application to stochastic computing circuit designs will be made apparent, we argue that its basic functionality, reminiscent of an integrate-and-fire neuron, qualifies it as an alternative bioinspired building block.
Pinna, D. ; Abreu Araujo, Flavio ; Kim, J.-V. ; Cros, V. ; Querlioz, D. ; et. al. Skyrmion Gas Manipulation for Probabilistic Computing. In: Physical Review Applied, Vol. 9, no.6, p. 064018 (2018)
