This is a narrative of the basic theoretical ideas of axisymmetric two-dimensional solitons and of their connection to basic experiments on magnetic compounds. A shortened and edited version appeared in Physics Today.
It is known that ultrafast laser pulses can be used to deterministically switch magnetisation and create skyrmions, however the deterministic creation of a single Néel skyrmion after ultrafast demagnetisation remains an open question. Here we show domain wall skyrmions also emerge in systems with broken inversion symmetry after exposure to an ultrafast laser pulse, carrying an integer topological charge. Whilst domain wall skyrmions do not appear in the relaxed state due to quick thermal decay following an Arrhenius law, they play a key role in controlling the final skyrmion population through…
Skyrmions are topologically protected field configurations with particle-like properties that play important roles in various fields of science. Recently, skyrmions have been directly observed in chiral magnets. Here, we investigate the effects of nonmagnetic impurities (structural point-like defects) on the different initial states (random or helical states) and on the formation of the skyrmion crystal in a discrete lattice. By using first-principle calculations and Monte Carlo techniques, we have shown that even a small percentage of spin vacancies present in the chiral magnetic thin film af…
In this work, we utilize voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) to manipulate magnetic skyrmions that are fixed in space. Memory devices based on this strategy can potentially be of smaller footprint and better energy efficiency than current-controlled motion-based skyrmionic devices. To demonstrate VCMA induced manipulation of skyrmions, we fabricate antiferromagnet/ferromagnet/oxide heterostructure films where skyrmions can be stabilized without any external magnetic field due to the presence of exchange bias. These isolated skyrmions were annihilated by applying a voltage pulse that …
Magnetic skyrmions are promising candidates as information carriers in logic or storage devices thanks to their robustness, guaranteed by the topological protection, and their nanometric size. Currently, little is known about the influence of parameters such as disorder, defects or external stimuli, on the long-range spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the skyrmion lattice. Here, using a large (7.3x7.3μm$^{2}$) single crystal nano-slice of Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$, we image up to 70,000 skyrmions, by means of cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy as a function of the applied magne…
Magnetic skyrmionium is a novel magnetization configuration with zero skyrmion number, which is composed by two skyrmions with opposite skyrmion number. Here, we study the dynamics of skyrmionium under an anisotropy gradient. We find that the skyrmionium can be efficiently driven by an anisotropy gradient with moving straightly along the direction of gradient. The skyrmion Hall angle for skyrmionium is close to zero which is much smaller than that of skyrmion. while the speed is much larger. We also demonstrate that the skyrmionium motion depends on the damping cofficient, and the skyrmionium …
We study spin-wave excitations in a circular ferromagnetic nanodot in different inhomogeneous, topologically non-trivial magnetization states, specifically, vortex and skyrmion states. Gradual change in the strength of the out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction leads to continuous phase transitions between different stable magnetic configurations and allows for mapping of dynamic spin modes in and between the vortex, Bloch-type skyrmion and Néel-type skyrmion states. Our study elucidates the connections between gyrotropic modes, azimuthal spin waves…
Skyrmions dynamics in the approximation of point-particle skyrmions is considered in the multiferroic insulators, where the spiral magnetic structure is accompanied by finite electric dipole moment. The skyrmion motion is studied in the gradients of perpendicular magnetic and electric fields. The nonuniform magnetic field with a fixed gradient magnitude leads to the spiral motion, where skyrmion circulates in the plane perpendicular to the direction of magnetic field. The frequency of circulation is fixed by the derivative of the external magnetic field and the magnitude of the dipole moment. …
Using micromagnetic simulations we demonstrate core reversal of a fixed magnetic skyrmion by modulating the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of a nanomagnet with an electric field. We can switch reversibly between two skyrmion states and two ferromagnetic states, i.e. skyrmion states with the magnetization of the core pointing down/up and periphery pointing up/down, and ferromagnetic states with magnetization pointing up/down, by sequential increase and decrease of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The switching between these states is explained by the fact that the spin texture correspo…
A magnetic skyrmion isusually refers to a twisted spin texture surrounded by uniformly aligned out-of-plane spinsin the background of a uniformly magnetized state. The invariance of the magnetic skyrmion conserves its topological charge under any continuous transformations of the spin textures, leads to which represents the robustness of a magnetic skyrmion their texture against external perturbations, making it ideal to use skyrmions as . Such a behaviour is required for an ideal information carriers. To date, most magnetic skyrmion studies have been performedfocused on in perpendicularly mag…
Skyrmions were originally introduced in Particle Physics as a possible mechanism to explain the stability of particles. Lately the concept has been applied in Condensed Matter Physics to describe the newly discovered topologically protected magnetic configurations called the magnetic Skyrmions. This elementary review introduces the concept at a level suitable for beginning students of Physics.
Magnetic skyrmion crystals are topological magnetic textures arising in the chiral ferromagnetic materials with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The magnetostatic fields generated by magnetic skyrmion crystals are first studied by micromagnetic simulations. For Néel-type skyrmion crystals, the fields will vanish on one side of the crystal plane, which depend on the helicity; while for Bloch-type skyrmion crystals, the fields will distribute over both sides, and are identical for the two helicities. These features and the symmetry relations of the magetostatic fields are understood from the m…
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected nanoscale objects, which are promising building blocks for novel magnetic and spintronic devices. Here, we investigate the dynamics of a skyrmion driven by a spin wave in a magnetic nanowire. It is found that (i) the skyrmion is first accelerated and then decelerated exponentially; (ii) it can turn L-corners with both right and left turns; and (iii) it always turns left (right) when the skyrmion number is positive (negative) in the T- and Y-junctions. Our results will be the basis of skyrmionic devices driven by a spin wave.
RKKY-like interactions between two magnetic skyrmions
School of Science and Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen)(香港中文大学(深圳)理工学院);Institute for Advanced Study in Physics, Zhejiang University(浙江大学物理高等研究院)
Magnetic skyrmions formed at temperatures around room temperature in square-based parallelepiped magnetic FePt nanoparticles with perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) were studied during the magnetization reversal using micromagnetic simulations. Finite Differences (FD) method were used for the solution of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. Magnetic configurations exhibiting Néel skyrmionic formations were detected. The magnetic skyrmions can be created in different systems generated by the variation of external field, side length and width of the squared-based parallelepiped m…
A magnetic skyrmion is a topological magnetization structure with a nanometric size and a well-defined swirling spin distribution, which is anticipated to be an essential building block for novel skyrmion-based device applications. We study the motion of magnetic skyrmions in multilayer synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) racetracks as well as in conventional monolayer ferromagnetic (FM) racetracks at finite temperature. There is an odd-even effect of the constituent FM layer number on the skyrmion Hall effect (SkHE). Namely, due to the suppression of the SkHE, the magnetic skyrmion has no trans…
Quantum collapse of a small skyrmion in a thin magnetic film with Dzyalishinskii-Moriya (DMI) interaction has been studied. The energy of the skyrmion and the stability threshold determined by the DMI, the external magnetic field, and the underlying atomic lattice are investigated analytically and numerically. The Lagrangian describing the coupled dynamics of the skyrmion size and the chirality angle is derived. Equations of motion possess an instanton solution that corresponds to the skyrmion underbarrier contraction via quantum tunneling with subsequent collapse and decay of the topological …
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically-protected spin textures existing in helimagentic materials, which can be utilized as information carriers for non-volatile memories and logic circuits in spintronics. Searching simple and controllable way to create isolated magnetic skyrmions is desirable for further technology developments and industrial designs. Based on micromagnetic simulations, we show that the temporal dissipative structure can be developed in the T-shaped helimagnetic nanojunction when it is driven to the far-from-equilibrium regime by a constant spin-polarized current. Then the magn…
Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like chiral spin textures found in a magnetic film with out-of-planeanisotropy and are considered to be potential candidates as information carriers in next generationdata storage devices. Despite intense research into the nature of skyrmions and their dynamic prop-erties, there are several key challenges that still need to be addressed. In particular, the outstandingissues are the reproducible generation, stabilization and confinement of skyrmions at room tempera-ture. Here, we present a method for the capture of nanometer sized magnetic skyrmions in an arrayof…
Magnetic skyrmions are promising candidates for the next generation of spintronic devices due to their small size and topologically protected structure. One challenge for using these magnetic states in applications lies on controlling the nucleation process and stabilization that usually requires an external force. Here, we report on the evidence of skyrmions in unpatterned symmetric Pd/Co/Pd multilayers at room temperature without prior application of neither electric current nor magnetic field. By decreasing the ferromagnetic interlayer thickness, the tuning of the physical properties across…
The analytical model is developed for description of skyrmions and skyrmion-like magnetic structures in a two-sublattice antiferromagnet with uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Relativistic contraction of skyrmion size in the direction of motion is demonstrated for subcritical case when the skyrmion velocity is less than spin wave velocity in antiferromagnet. Lorentz-like supercritical transformation are found for skyrmion-like magnetic structures moving with velocity greater than spin wave velocity in antiferromagnet.
Reliable transport of magnetic skyrmions is required for any future skyrmion-based information processing devices. Here we present a micromagnetic study of the in-plane current-driven motion of a skyrmion in a ferromagnetic nanotrack with spatially sinusoidally varying Gilbert damping and/or non-adiabatic spin-transfer torque coefficients. It is found that the skyrmion moves in a sinusoidal pattern as a result of the spatially varying Gilbert damping and/or non-adiabatic spin-transfer torque in the nanotrack, which could prevent the destruction of the skyrmion caused by the skyrmion Hall effec…
Magnetic skyrmions are believed to be the promising candidate of information carriers in spintronics. However, the skyrmion Hall effect due to the nontrivial topology of skyrmions can induce a skyrmion accumulation or even annihilation at the edge of the devices, which hinders the real-world applications of skyrmions. In this work, we theoretically investigate the current-driven skyrmion motion on magnetic nanotubes which can be regarded as "edgeless" in the tangential direction. By performing micromagnetic simulations, we find that the skyrmion motion exhibits a helical trajectory on the nano…
We show that high concentration of skyrmions can be achieved in magnetic films with quenched disorder. A 2D system of Heisenberg spins with feromagnetic exchange, $J$, and random magnetic anisotropy of strength $D_R \ll J$ has been studied. Analytical theory for the dependence of the average skyrmion size on the magnetic field $H$, and for the stability of pinned skyrmions, is complemented by numerical studies of 2D lattices containing up to 40 million spins. At low fields the average size of the skyrmion, $λ$, is determined by the average size of Imry-Ma domains. On increasing the field the s…
Spin transfer torque (STT) affords magnetic nanodevices the potential to act as memory, computing, and microwave elements operating at ultra-low currents and at a low energy cost. Spin transfer torque is not only effective in manipulating well-known magnetic structures, such as domain walls and vortices, but can also nucleate previously unattainable nano-magnetic objects, such as magnetic droplets and skyrmions. While the droplet and the skyrmion are both solitons, the former is inherently dynamic and non-topological, whereas the latter is static but topologically protected. Here we show that …
Magnetic skyrmions are nontrivial spin textures which resist external perturbations, being promising candidates for the next generation recording devices. Nevertheless, a major challenge in realizing skyrmion-based devices is the stabilization of ordered arrays of these spin textures under ambient conditions and zero applied field. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the formation and stabilization of magnetic skyrmions on arrays of self-assembled hexagonal nanodomes taking advantage of the intrinsic properties of its curved geometry. Magnetic force microscopy images from the arrays of 100…
An understanding of the pinning of magnetic skyrmions to defects is crucial for the development of future spintronic applications. While pinning is desirable for a precise positioning of magnetic skyrmions it is detrimental when they are to be moved through a material. We use scanning tunneling microscopy to study the interaction between atomic scale defects and magnetic skyrmions that are only a few nanometers in diameter. The studied pinning centers range from single atom inlayer defects and adatoms to clusters adsorbed on the surface of our model system. We find very different pinning stren…
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected whirling spin textures that can be stabilized in magnetic materials in which a chiral interaction is present. Their limited size together with their robustness against the external perturbations promote them as the ultimate magnetic storage bit in a novel generation of memory and logic devices. Despite many examples of the signature of magnetic skyrmions in the electrical signal, only low temperature measurements, mainly in magnetic materials with B20 crystal structure, have demonstrated the skyrmions contribution to the electrical transport prope…
Understanding the physical properties of magnetic skyrmions is important for fundamental research with the aim to develop new spintronic device paradigms where both logic and memory can be integrated at the same level. Here, we show a universal model based on the micromagnetic formalism that can be used to study skyrmion stability as a function of magnetic field and temperature. We consider ultrathin, circular ferromagnetic magnetic dots. Our results show that magnetic skyrmions with a small radius compared to the dot radius are always metastable, while large radius skyrmions form a stable gro…
Magnetic skyrmion, a swirling spin texture, in chiral magnets is characterized by (i) nano-scale size ($\sim$1nm -- 100nm), (ii) topological stability, and (iii) gyro-dynamics. These features are shown to be advantageous for (a) high-density data-storage, (b) nonvolatile memory, and (c) ultra-low current and energy cost manipulation, respectively. By the numerical simulations of Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, the elementary functions of skyrmions are demonstrated aiming at the design principles of skyrmionic memory devices.
We consider current-driven motion of magnetic skyrmions in granular magnetic films. The study uses micromagnetic modeling and phenomenological analysis based on the Thiele formalism. Remarkably, disorder enhances the effective skyrmion Hall effect that depends on the magnitude of the driving force (current density and non-adiabaticity parameter). The origin is sliding motion of the skyrmion along the grain boundaries, followed by pinning and depinning at the grain junctions. A side-jump can occur during this depinning process. In addition, the critical current that triggers the skyrmion motion…
The magnetic skyrmion structure can be formed in the chiral magnets (CMs) with strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. In this work, we propose a way of artificially tailoring the topological details of the skyrmion such as its radial and whirling symmetric patterns by external magnetic fields besieging the CM slab. As long as the boundary magnetic fields are strong enough to fix the boundary ferromagnetism, the attained skyrmion profile is stable over time. The dynamics of spins is considered by numerically solving the non-equilibrium Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation.
We investigate the dependence of the Néel skyrmion size and stability on perpendicular magnetic field in ultrathin circular magnetic dots with out-of-plane anisotropy and interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction. Our results show the existence of two distinct dependencies of the skyrmion radius on the applied field and dot size. In the case of skyrmions stable at zero field, their radius strongly increases with the field applied parallel to the skyrmion core until skyrmion reaches the metastability region and this dependence slows down. More common metastable skyrmions demonstrat…
We theoretically study the skyrmion-number dependence of spin-transfer torque acting on magnetic bubbles. The skymrion number of magnetic bubbles can take any integer value depending on the magnetic profile on its circumference and the size of the bubble. We find that the transverse motion of a bubble with respect to the charge current is greatly suppressed as the absolute value of skyrmion number departs from unity, whereas the longitudinal motion is less sensitive.
Magnetic skyrmions (or vortices) are spatially inhomogeneous spin textures localized in nanoscale cylindrical regions. Topological protection and small size make skyrmions especially attractive for the study of spin topology and technologies wherein information is carried by the electron spin further to, or instead of the electron charge. Despite achievements in the synthesis of materials where axisymmetric magnetic skyrmions can be stabilized and characterized, there is disproportionate progress in elucidating the basic properties. The Perspective aims to bridge this gap and deliver an intell…
The novel ratchet motion of magnetic skyrmions driven by microwave magnetic fields, with the motion direction and speed tunable by field parameters, provides a promising route to drive magnetic skyrmions in materials with poor conductivity. However, as an indirect motion, skyrmion ratchet motion speed is generally low in comparison with the direct motions driven by current. Toward practical applications, it is important to ask if there are mechanisms to realize ultrafast ratchet motion of magnetic skyrmions and how such novel motion can be integrated into racetrack-type skyrmion devices. In th…
We demonstrate numerically on large spin lattices that one can write skyrmions in a thin magnetic film with a magnetic dipole of a few tens of nanometer in size. Nucleation of non-chiral skyrmions as well as chiral skyrmions formed by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction has been investigated. Analytical model is developed that agrees with numerical results. It is shown that skyrmions can be written though a number of scenarios that depend on the experimental technique and parameters of the system. In one scenario, that branches into subscenarios of different topology, the magnetic dipole on …
We study how impurities influence the current-induced dynamics of magnetic Skyrmions moving in a racetrack geometry. For this, we solve numerically the generalized Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation extended by the current-induced spin transfer torque. In particular, we investigate two classes of impurities, non-conducting and magnetic impurities. The former are magnetically rigid objects and yield to an inhomogeneous current density over the racetrack which we determine separately by solving the fundamental electrostatic equations. In contrast, magnetic impurities leave the applied current dens…
Skyrmion is a topologically protected spin texture excited in magnetic thin films. The radii of skyrmions are typically 10-100 nm. Because of the size, the skyrmion is expected to be a candidate for memory and novel-device usages. To realize the futuristic devices that will be using the skyrmion circuit, the tracks which guide the motion of skyrmions are needed. The tracks patterned with differences in the magnetic-anisotropy energy are well-paved without a potential pocket, whereas the tracks carved out of magnetic films have the potential pockets at corners due to the demagnetizing field. Th…
We study skyrmions in magnetic thin films with structural inversion asymmetry perpendicular to the film plane. We determine the magnetization texture of a single skyrmion and its dependence on the strength of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction relative to the magnetostatic energy. Furthermore, we construct a phenomenological model that describes the interaction between the motion of skyrmions and electric currents to lowest order in spin-orbit coupling. We estimate the experimental verifiable velocities for current-driven motion of skyrmion textures based on available results obtained from …
The dynamics of a vortex in a thin-film ferromagnet resembles the motion of a charged massless particle in a uniform magnetic field. Similar dynamics is expected for other magnetic textures with a nonzero skyrmion number. However, recent numerical simulations revealed that skyrmion magnetic bubbles show significant deviations from this model. We show that a skyrmion bubble possesses inertia and derive its mass from the standard theory of a thin-film ferromagnet. Besides center-of-mass motion, other low energy modes are waves on the edge of the bubble traveling with different speeds in opposite…
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected nanoscale spin textures exhibiting fascinating physical behaviors. Recent observations of room temperature Néel-type skyrmions in magnetic multilayer films are an important step towards their use in ultra-low power devices. We have investigated the magnetization reversal in a [Pt/Co/Ta]11 multilayer sample under a tilted magnetic field using the in-situ Lorentz tunneling electron microscopy. On decreasing the magnetic field individual skyrmions appear that subsequently evolve into snake-like structures growing in the direction opposite to the in-p…
The atomic-scale spin structure of individual isolated skyrmions in an ultrathin film is investigated in real space by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Their axial symmetry as well as their unique rotational sense is revealed by using both out-of-plane and in-plane sensitive tips. The size and shape of skyrmions change as a function of magnetic field. An analytical expression for the description of skyrmions is proposed and applied to connect the experimental data to the original theoretical model describing chiral skyrmions. Thereby, the relevant material parameters responsible f…
The theoretical study considers chiral spin texture induced in a 2D electron gas (2DEG) by magnetic skyrmions. We calculate the electron gas spin density as a linear response to the exchange interaction between the 2DEG and the magnetization field of a magnetic skyrmion. Two physically distinct regimes occur. When the size of the skyrmion is larger than the inverse Fermi wavevector $k_F^{-1}$, the spin density response follows the magnetization profile of the skyrmion. In the opposite case of a small skyrmion the emerging spin structure of 2DEG has a characteristic size of $k_F^{-1}$ and the r…
Magnetic skyrmions are emerging as key elements of unconventional operations having unique properties such as small size and low current manipulation. In particular, it is possible to design skyrmion-based neurons and synapses for neuromorphic computing in devices where skyrmions move along the current direction (zero skyrmion Hall angle). Here, we show that, for a given graph, skyrmions can be used in optimization problems facing the calculation of the shortest path. Our tests show a solution with the same path length as computed with Algorithm. In addition, we also discuss how skyrmions act …
We theoretically investigated a method to detect a single skyrmion in a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) geometry. Using the tunneling Hamiltonian approach, we calculated the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of the skyrmion-ferromagnet bilayer system. We show the TMR ratio is determined sorely by the spin profile of the skyrmion and geometrical factor of the device, if only the system is reasonably clean such that the spectral broadening is smaller than the exchange coupling between the local and the itinerant magnetic moment. The TMR ratio in that case can amount to $30\%$ or higher w…
The nonlinear dynamic behavior of a magnetic skyrmion in circular nanodots was studied numerically by solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation with a classical spin model. We show that a skyrmion core reversal can be achieved within nanoseconds using a perpendicular oscillating magnetic field. Two symmetric switching processes that correspond to excitations of the breathing mode and the mixed mode (combination of the breathing mode and a radial spin-wave mode) are identified. For excitation of the breathing mode, the skyrmion core switches through nucleation of a new core from a transient …
We report our theoretical results on the emergence of rectangular- and square-shaped magnetic skyrmion crystals on a centrosymmetric square lattice with magnetic anisotropy. By performing the simulated annealing for a frustrated spin model with an easy-axis single-ion anisotropy on a square lattice, we find that a competition of the interactions in momentum space gives rise to the formation of two skyrmion crystals, where the skyrmion cores are aligned in a rectangle- or square-lattice way. Especially, the interactions at the higher harmonic wave vectors play an important role in stabilizing t…
We theoretically study equilibrium and dynamic properties of nanosized magnetic skyrmions in thin magnetic films with broken inversion symmetry, where electric field couples to magnetization via spin-orbit coupling. Based on a symmetry-based phenomenology and micromagnetic simulations we show that this electric-field coupling, via renormalizing the micromagnetic energy, modifies the equilibrium properties of the skyrmion. This change, in turn, results in a significant alteration of the current-induced skyrmion motion. Particularly, speed and direction of the skyrmion can be manipulated by desi…
Extended numerical simulations enable to ascertain the diffusive behavior at finite temperatures of chiral walls and skyrmions in ultra-thin model Co layers exhibiting symmetric - Heisenberg - as well as antisymmetric - Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya - exchange interactions. The Brownian motion of walls and skyrmions is shown to obey markedly different diffusion laws as a function of the damping parameter. Topology related skyrmion diffusion suppression with vanishing damping parameter, albeit already documented, is shown to be restricted to ultra-small skyrmion sizes or, equivalently, to ultra-low dam…
We develop a general theory to classify magnetic skyrmions and related spin textures in terms of their magnetoelectric multipoles. Since magnetic skyrmions are now established in insulating materials, where the magnetoelectric multipoles govern the linear magnetoelectric response, our classification provides a recipe for manipulating the magnetic properties of skyrmions using applied electric fields. We apply our formalism to skyrmions and anti-skyrmions of different helicities, as well as to magnetic bimerons, which are topologically, but not geometrically, equivalent to skyrmions. We show th…
In a broad range of applied magnetic fields and material parameters isolated magnetic skyrmions condense into skyrmion lattices. While the geometry of isolated skyrmions and their lattice counterparts strongly depend on field and Dzyaloshinski-Moriya interaction, this issue has not been adequately addressed in previous studies. Meanwhile, this information is extremely important for applications, because the skyrmion size and the interskyrmion distance have to be tuned for skyrmion based memory and logic devices. In this investigation we elucidate the size and density-dependent phase diagram sh…
Magnetic skyrmions are spin swirling solitonic defects that can play a major role in information technology. Their future in applications and devices hinges on their efficient manipulation and detection. Here, we explore from ab-initio their nature as magnetic inhomongeities in an otherwise unperturbed magnetic material, Fe layer covered by a thin Pd film and deposited on top of Ir(111) surface. The presence of skyrmions triggers scattering processes, from which Friedel oscillations emerge. The latter mediate interactions among skyrmions or between skyrmions and other potential surrounding def…
Skyrmions are localized solitonic spin textures with protected topology, which are promising as information carriers in ultra-dense and energy-efficient logic and memory devices. Recently, magnetic skyrmions have been observed in magnetic thin films, and are stabilized by the extrinsic interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and/or external magnetic fields. The specific effects in magnetic monolayer materials have not been thoroughly studied. Here, we investigate the intrinsic magnetic skyrmions in a family of monolayer Janus van der Waals magnets, MnSTe, MnSeTe, VSeTe, and MnSSe, …
We report on the effect of the lateral confinement and a perpendicular magnetic field on isolated room-temperature magnetic skyrmions in sputtered Pt/Co/MgO nanotracks and nanodots. We show that the skyrmions size can be easily tuned by playing on the lateral dimensions of the nanostructures and by using external magnetic field amplitudes of a few mT, which allow to reach sub-100 nm diameters. Our XMCD-PEEM observations also highlight the important role of the pinning on the skyrmions size and stability under an out-of-plane magnetic field. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that the effect of l…
Magnetic skyrmions are the self-organized topological spin textures behaving like particles. Because of their fast creation and typically long lifetime, experimental verification of skyrmion's creation/annihilation processes has been challenging. Here we successfully track skyrmions dynamics in defect-introduced Co9Zn9Mn2, by using pump-probe Lorentz transmission electron microscope. Following the nanosecond-photothermal excitation, we resolve 160-nm-skyrmion's proliferation at <1 ns, contraction at 5 ns, drift from 10 ns to 4 microsecond and coalescence at 5 microsecond. These motions relay t…
We theoretically reveal that pure eigenmodes of an isolated magnetic skyrmion embedded in a ferromagnetic environment can be selectively activated using microwave electric fields without exciting gigantic ferromagnetic resonances, in contrast to conventional methods using microwave magnetic fields. We also demonstrate that this selective activation of a skyrmion can efficiently drive its translational motion in a ferromagnetic nanotrack under application of an external magnetic field inclined from the normal direction. We find that a mode with combined breathing and rotational oscillations ind…