Controlling Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in the skyrmion host candidates FePd${}_{1-x}$Pt${}_x$Mo${}_3$N

Abstract

Ferromagnets crystallizing in structures described by chiral cubic space groups, including compounds with the B20 or $\beta$-Mn structures, are known to host long-period chiral spin textures such as skyrmion lattices. These spin textures are stabilized by a competition between ferromagnetic exchange and antisymmetric Dyzaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) exchange, which is enhanced by the spin-orbit coupling associated with high-atomic-number elements. For real-world application, it is desirable to find materials that can host compact skyrmion lattices at readily accessible temperatures. Here, we report on the crystal chemistry and magnetic phase diagrams of a family of compounds with the filled $\beta$-Mn structure, FePd${}_{1-x}$Pt${}_x$Mo${}_3$N with $T_C$ ranging from 175 K to 240 K. DC and AC magnetization measurements reveal magnetic phase diagrams consistent with the formation of a skyrmion pocket just below $T_C$. The magnitudes of ferromagnetic and DM exchanges are determined from the phase diagrams, demonstrating that the introduction of increasing amounts of Pt can be used to increase spin-orbit coupling in order to control the expected skyrmion lattice parameter between 140 nm and 65 nm while simultaneously increasing $T_C$.

9 pages and 6 figures, plus 2 pages of supplemental material

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Structural evolution and skyrmionic phase diagram of the lacunar spinel GaMo${}_4$Se${}_8$
• Potential Skyrmion Host Fe(IO3)3: Connecting Stereo-active Lone-Pair Electron Effects to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction
• Magnetoentropic mapping and computational modeling of cycloids and skyrmions in the lacunar spinels GaV${}_4$S${}_8$ and GaV${}_4$Se${}_8$
• Entropic signatures of the skyrmion lattice phase in MnSi1-xAlx and Fe1-yCoySi