Realization of magnetic skyrmions in thin films at ambient conditions

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions present interesting physics due to their topological nature and hold significant promise for future informational technologies. A key barrier to realizing skyrmion devices has been stabilizing these spin structures in ambient conditions. I will discuss how we exploited the tunable magnetic properties of amorphous Fe/Gd films to realize, for the first time, skyrmion lattices in continuous amorphous thin-films, stable at room temperature and zero magnetic field. These Bloch-type skyrmions are stabilized by dipolar interactions rather than traditional Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. Small angle neutron scattering was used in combination with soft x-ray microscopy providing a unique, multi-scale probe of the local and long-range order of these structures. Key to this work was to prepare an artificial stripe phase, which evolves into the hexagonally ordered skyrmion lattice structure under increasing magnetic field. These results identify a pathway to engineer controllable skyrmion phases in thin film geometries which are stable at ambient conditions.

*This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Presenters

  • Lisa DeBeer-Schmitt

    • Neutron Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Authors

  • Lisa DeBeer-Schmitt

    • Neutron Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Ryan Desautels

    • Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Large Scale Structures Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Sergio Montoya

    • Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific

  • Julie Borchers

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology

  • Soong-Geun Je

    • Center for X-ray Optics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Mi-Young Im

    • Center for X-ray Optics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    • MSD, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Michael R. Fitzsimmons

    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Eric Fullerton

    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego
    • University of California, San Diego
    • Center for Memory and Recording Research, Univesrity of California, San Diego
    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego
    • University of California San Diego

  • Dustin Gilbert

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology
    • NIST Center for Neutron Research, NIST Gaithersburg
    • Department of Materials Engineering, University of Tennesse, Knoxville