Dramatic pressure-driven enhancement of bulk skyrmion stability

Abstract

The recent discovery of magnetic skyrmion lattices initiated a surge of interest in the scientific community. Several novel phenomena have been shown to emerge from the interaction of conducting electrons with the skyrmion lattice, such as a topological Hall-effect and a spin-transfer torque at ultra-low current densities. In the insulating compound Cu2OSeO3, magneto-electric coupling enables control of the skyrmion lattice via electric fields, promising a dissipation-less route towards novel spintronic devices. One of the outstanding fundamental issues is related to the thermodynamic stability of the skyrmion lattice. To date, the skyrmion lattice in bulk materials has been found only in a narrow temperature region just below the order-disorder transition. If this narrow stability is unavoidable, it would severely limit applications. Here we present the discovery that applying just moderate pressure on Cu2OSeO3 substantially increases the absolute size of the skyrmion pocket. This insight demonstrates directly that tuning the electronic structure can lead to a significant enhancement of the skyrmion lattice stability. We interpret the discovery by extending the previously employed Ginzburg-Landau approach and conclude that change in the anisotropy is the main driver for control of the size of the skyrmion pocket. This realization provides an important guide for tuning the properties of future skyrmion hosting materials.

submitted to Scientific Reports

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• Magnetoelastic Coupling and Phases in the Skyrmion Lattice Magnet Gd2PdSi3 Discovered by High-resolution Dilatometry
• Magnetic relaxation phenomena in the Chiral Magnet Fe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$Si: An ac susceptibility study
• Electric field-driven topological phase switching and skyrmion lattice metastability in magnetoelectric Cu${}_2$OSeO${}_3$
• Field-driven metamorphoses of isolated skyrmions within the conical state of cubic helimagnets
• Exploring the origins of the Dzyalloshinski-Moria interaction in MnSi
• Observation of a new light-induced skyrmion phase in the Mott insulator Cu2OSeO3
• Increasing the skyrmion stability in Cu${}_2$OSeO${}_3$ by chemical substitution
• Finsler geometry modeling and Monte Carlo study of skyrmion shape deformation by uniaxial stress
• Theoretical study on stabilization and destabilization of magnetic skyrmions by uniaxial-strain-induced anisotropic Dzyaloshinskii--Moriya interactions
• Tuning the structure of Skyrmion lattice system Cu2OSeO3 under pressure
• Monte Carlo studies of skyrmion stabilization under geometric confinement and uniaxial strain
• Uniaxial Pressure Effects, Phase Diagram, and Tricritical Point in the Centrosymmetric Skyrmion Lattice Magnet GdRu${}_2$Si${}_2$
• Structure analysis of high-pressure phase for skyrmion-hosting multiferroic Cu2OSeO3