Spintronic devices, characterized by non-volatility, high-speed operation, and ultra-low power consumption, hold the potential to overcome the performance limitations of the von Neumann architecture, thus emerging as a transformative paradigm for next-generation programmable logic technologies. Spintronic devices based on the spin-orbit torque are an important development direction for realizing programmable logic functions.

Spin-orbit torque can efficiently drive the fast dynamics of magnetization state for various logic functions. However, due to symmetry constraints, deterministic manipulation of perpendicular magnetization cannot be achieved solely by traditional spin-orbit torque, and additional auxiliary approaches are usually required to break the symmetry. Currently, through the coordinate electric and magnetic field control or all electric approaches, the magnetization state can be deterministically operated via spin-orbit torque, enabling the dynamic reconfiguration of logic functions. In the coordinate electric and magnetic field control approaches, the methods such as utilizing localized auxiliary magnetic fields, Joule heating, and voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) are used to achieve deterministic switching of perpendicular magnetization. To develop spin logic devices with lower power consumption and higher integration, the methods including interlayer exchange coupling, structurally asymmetric designs, and specialized low-symmetry materials can be adopted to realize all-electrically-driven logic functions. When fabricated into flexible devices, programmable spin logic devices enable expanding their functionality with the excellent performances on diverse flexible platforms. Flexible substrates with low thermal conductivity can effectively accumulate Joule heating generated by current flow, thereby reducing the magnetic energy barrier during switching and lowering the write energy. Consequently, the development of flexible programmable spin logic devices lays the foundation for low-power flexible and wearable compute-in-memory applications. Therefore, the spin logic devices based on spin-orbit-torque show great potential in versatile scenarios. This article mainly reviews the development of programmable spin logic devices, the research status of the devices based on spin-orbit torque, and the state-of-the-art flexibilization approaches. Finally, it looks forward to the future development trends.