Deterministic Generation and Guided Motion of Magnetic Skyrmions by Focused He${}^{+}$-Ion Irradiation

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are quasiparticles with non-trivial topology, envisioned to play a key role in next-generation data technology while simultaneously attracting fundamental research interest due to their emerging topological charge. In chiral magnetic multilayers, current-generated spin-orbit torques or ultrafast laser excitation can be used to nucleate isolated skyrmions on a picosecond timescale. Both methods, however, produce randomly arranged skyrmions, which inherently limits the precision on the location at which the skyrmions are nucleated. Here, we show that nanopatterning of the anisotropy landscape with a He${}^{+}$-ion beam creates well-defined skyrmion nucleation sites, thereby transforming the skyrmion localization into a deterministic process. This approach allows to realize control of individual skyrmion nucleation as well as guided skyrmion motion with nanometer-scale precision, which is pivotal for both future fundamental studies of skyrmion dynamics and applications.

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• Commensuration Effects on Skyrmion Hall Angle and Drag for Manipulation of Skyrmions on Two-Dimensional Periodic Substrates
• Circular motion of non-collinear spin textures in Corbino disks: Dynamics of Néel- versus Bloch-type skyrmions and skyrmioniums
• Skyrmion Generation through the Chirality Interplay of Light and Magnetism
• Skyrmion automotion in confined counter-sensor device geometries
• Single device offset-free magnetic field sensing principle with tunable sensitivity and linear range based on spin-orbit-torques
• Optical creation and annihilation of skyrmion patches in a bulk chiral magnet
• Controlling magnetic skyrmion nucleation with Ga+ ion irradiation
• RC circuit based on magnetic skyrmions
• Tunable Skyrmion-Antiskyrmion Dynamics in Co/Pt Nanocontacts for Spintronic Applications
• Dynamic Phases and Reentrant Hall Effect for Vortices and Skyrmions on Periodic Pinning Arrays
• Skyrmion Lattice Domain Formation in a Non-Flat Energy Landscape
• Control of magnetoelastic coupling in Ni/Fe multilayers using He${}^{+}$ ion irradiation
• Skyrmionic Schrödinger cat states in monoaxial chiral magnets