Correlation of Interface Interdiffusion and Skyrmionic Phases

• Magnetic skyrmions are prime candidates for the nextgenerationof spintronic devices. Skyrmions and other topological magnetic structuresare known to be stabilized by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction(DMI) that occurs when the inversion symmetry is broken in thin films.Here, we show by first-principles calculations and atomistic spindynamics simulations that metastable skyrmionic states can also befound in nominally symmetric multilayered systems. We demonstratethat this is correlated with the large enhancement of the DMI strengthdue to the presence of local defects. In particular, we find thatmetastable skyrmions can occur in Pd/Co/Pd multilayers without externalmagnetic fields and can be stable even near room temperature conditions.Our theoretical findings corroborate with magnetic force microscopyimages and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements and highlightthe possibility of tuning the intensity of DMI by using interdiffusionat thin film interfaces.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

skyrmions

DMI

interdiffusion

symmetriclayers

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)