Using a custom-FPGA architecture to extend the scale of atomistic magnetic spin simulations

New computational solutions are required to understand how atomic-scale properties affect magnetic behaviour at micrometer dimensions. We describe a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) based simulation of a dilute antiferromagnet with a large number of Ising spins using Glauber dynamics. The simple atomic model qualitatively reproduces experimental findings when scaled up to sufficiently large spatial dimensions, and provides insight into the finite size thresholds separating nanoscale from microscale behaviour. A real-time visualisation module was used to study the dynamics of the fractal domain structure and non-exponential relaxation mechanism. A performance comparison with contemporary GPU and CPU implementations suggests that a FPGA route is a competitive alternative.

► Developed a customized field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) architecture to implement the Ising model on a single chip. ► A parallelized Monte Carlo algorithm was used to model the meta-stable properties of a diluted uniaxial antiferromagnet. ► Non-magnetic defects lead to the formation of domains that carry a parasitic magnetization owing to imperfect sub-lattice compensation. ► A finite size threshold prevents domain formation in small lattice simulations. ► Performance comparison with contemporary GPU and CPU implementations suggests that the FPGA route is a competitive alternative for studying spin systems.