journal article·2019-04

Anatomy of Skyrmionic Textures in Magnetic Multilayers

Wenjing Li, Iuliia Bykova, Shilei Zhang, Guoqiang Yu, Riccardo Tomasello, Mario Carpentieri, Yizhou Liu, Yao Guang, Joachim Gräfe, Markus Weigand, David M. Burn, Gerrit van der Laan, Thorsten Hesjedal, Zhengren Yan, Jiafeng Feng, Caihua Wan, Jinwu Wei, Xiao Wang, Xiaomin Zhang, Hongjun Xu, Chenyang Guo, Hongxiang Wei, Giovanni Finocchio, Xiufeng Han, Gisela Schütz

Advanced Materials· Volume 31· Issue 14
Publisher page

Abstract

Abstract Room temperature magnetic skyrmions in magnetic multilayers are considered as information carriers for future spintronic applications. Currently, a detailed understanding of the skyrmion stabilization mechanisms is still lacking in these systems. To gain more insight, it is first and foremost essential to determine the full real‐space spin configuration. Here, two advanced X‐ray techniques are applied, based on magnetic circular dichroism, to investigate the spin textures of skyrmions in [Ta/CoFeB/MgO]n multilayers. First, by using ptychography, a high‐resolution diffraction imaging technique, the 2D out‐of‐plane spin profile of skyrmions with a spatial resolution of 10 nm is determined. Second, by performing circular dichroism in resonant elastic X‐ray scattering, it is demonstrated that the chirality of the magnetic structure undergoes a depth‐dependent evolution. This suggests that the skyrmion structure is a complex 3D structure rather than an identical planar texture throughout the layer stack. The analyses of the spin textures confirm the theoretical predictions that the dipole–dipole interactions together with the external magnetic field play an important role in stabilizing sub‐100 nm diameter skyrmions and the hybrid structure of the skyrmion domain wall. This combined X‐ray‐based approach opens the door for in‐depth studies of magnetic skyrmion systems, which allows for precise engineering of optimized skyrmion heterostructures.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Magnetic properties of thin films · Magnetic Properties and Applications · Metallic Glasses and Amorphous Alloys

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190 China

Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049 China

Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory Dongguan Guangdong 523808 China

Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Heisenbergstraße 3 70569 Stuttgart Germany

Department of Physics Clarendon Laboratory University of Oxford Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PU UK

Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics FORTH GR‐70013 Heraklion‐Crete Greece

Department of Electrical and Information Engineering Polytechnic University of Bari Bari 70125 Italy

Magnetic Spectroscopy Group Diamond Light Source Didcot OX11 0DE UK

Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences University of Messina Messina 98166 Italy

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · CAS-SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams · General Secretariat for Research and Technology · Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale · Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China · Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council · Institute of Physics · Chinese Academy of Sciences

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