Interface-Driven Chiral Magnetism in Ultrathin Metallic Ferromagnets: Towards Skyrmion Spintronics
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Magnetic skyrmions are localized chiral magnetic textures in the form of nanoscale vortices or bubbles that are topologically protected from being ‘unwound’. Their topological nature gives rise to rich behaviors including ordered lattice formation, emergent electrodynamics and robust current-driven displacement at remarkably low current densities. However, magnetic skyrmions have so far been restricted to just a few materials and observed only at low temperatures, limiting the experimental accessibility and technological application of these unique topological objects. This project aimed to realize magnetic skyrmions at room temperature in a new class of engineered chiral ferromagnets that exploit broken mirror symmetry at interfaces to generate helical magnetic order. Ultrathin magnetic heterostructures were engineered and patterned into laterally-confined nanostructures in which skyrmions were stabilized, manipulated, and detected for the first time under ambient conditions. Static and dynamic properties were examined using advanced x-ray imaging to provide a fundamental understanding of topological magnetic phases. The interactions between magnetic skyrmions and electron charge and spin currents were studied to identify fundamental new physics and enable device applications. These experimental studies, supported by detailed modeling, will help launch a new subfield of skyrmion-based spintronics in which individual skyrmions can be used to encode, store, and transport information in high-performance, low power memory and logic devices.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0012371
- OSTI ID:
- 1765620
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-MIT-12371
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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