Steering skyrmions with microwave and terahertz electric pulses

Tools for controlling electrically the motion of magnetic skyrmions are important elements towards their use in spintronic devices. Here, we propose and demonstrate the transport of skyrmions via gigahertz and terahertz electric pulses. The method relies on using polarization-textured pulses such that the skyrmion experiences (via its inherent magnetoelectricity) the out-of-plane and in-plane components of the pulse electric field. It is shown how the electric field efficiently drags the skyrmion. The control of the skyrmion motion depends solely on the amplitude of electric fields, frequency, polarization, or phase in case two pulses are applied. Micromagnetic calculations supported by analytic modeling and analysis indicate the experimental feasibility of the control scheme.