Robust perpendicular skyrmions and their surface confinement

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b05141

Authors: Shilei Zhang (ShanghaiTech University; University of Oxford) , David M. Burn (Diamond Light Source) , Nicolas Jaouen (Synchrotron SOLEIL) , Jean-Yves Chauleau (Synchrotron SOLEIL) , Amir A. Haghighirad (University of Oxford; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) , Yizhou Liu (Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) , Weiwei Wang (Anhui University) , Gerrit Van Der Laan (Diamond Light Source) , Thorsten Hesjedal (University of Oxford)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Nano Letters

State: Published (Approved)
Published: January 2020
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 17612

Abstract: Magnetic skyrmions are two-dimensional magnetization swirls that stack in the form of tubes in the third dimension and which are proposed as prospective information carriers for nonvolatile memory devices due to their unique topological properties. From resonant elastic X-ray scattering measurements on Cu2OSeO3 with an in-plane magnetic field, we find that a state of perpendicularly ordered skyrmions forms, in stark contrast to the well-studied bulk state. The surface state is stable over a wide temperature range, unlike the bulk state in out-of-plane fields which is confined to a narrow region of the temperature-field phase diagram. In contrast to ordinary skyrmions found in the bulk, the surface state skyrmions result from the presence of magnetic interactions unique to the surface which stabilize them against external perturbations. The surface guiding makes the robust state particular interesting for racetracklike devices, ultimately allowing for much higher storage densities due to the smaller lateral footprint of the perpendicular skyrmions.

Journal Keywords: Skyrmions; perpendicular skyrmion lattice; surface confinement

Diamond Keywords: Skyrmions; Data Storage

Subject Areas: Physics, Materials, Information and Communication Technology


Instruments: I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism - scattering

Other Facilities: SEXTANTS at SOLEIL

Added On: 20/01/2020 14:07

Documents:
k4hh444.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Quantum Materials Hard condensed matter - electronic properties Physics Electronics Components & Micro-systems Information & Communication Technologies Magnetism Materials Science interfaces and thin films

Technical Tags:

Scattering Resonant Elastic X-ray Scattering (REXS)