Acoustic Wave-Induced FeRh Magnetic Phase Transition and Its Application in Antiferromagnetic Pattern Writing and Erasing.

We explore the FeRh magnetic phase transition (MPT) and magnetic phase domain (MPD) with the introduction of surface acoustic waves (SAWs). The effects of the SAW pulses with different pulse widths and powers on resistance-temperature loops are investigated, revealing that the SAW can reduce the thermal hysteresis. Meanwhile, the SAW-induced comb-like antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase domains are observed. By changing the pulse width and SAW frequency, we further realize a writing-erasing process of the different comb-like AFM phase domains in the mixed-phase regime of the cooling transition branch. Resistance measurements also display the repeated SAW writing-erasing and the nonvolatile characteristic clearly. MPT paths are measured to demonstrate that short SAW pulses induce isothermal MPT and write magnetic phase patterns via the dynamic strain, whereas long SAW pulses erase patterns via the acoustothermal effect. The Preisach model is introduced to model the FeRh MPT under the SAW pulses, and the calculated results correspond well with our experiments, which reveals the SAW-induced energy modulation promotes FeRh MPT. COMSOL simulations of the SAW strain field also support our results. Our study not only can be used to reduce the thermal hysteresis but also extends the application of the SAW as a tool to write and erase AFM patterns for spintronics and magnonics.

Generation of skyrmions by combining thermal and spin-orbit torque: breaking half skyrmions into skyrmions.

Skyrmions, swirling spin textures with topologically protected stability and low critical driven-current density, can be generated from the stripe domain with current pulses, bringing them closer to practical applications in racetrack memory. However, the mechanism of this topological transition from the stripe domain to the skyrmion remains unclear because the transition process occurs at a nanosecond timescale, giving rise to difficulties in observing this process using imaging tools. In this study, we controlled the domain wall - skyrmion transition by combining Joule heating with spin-orbit torque (SOT) and experimentally observed the details of this process, by which we confirmed the mechanism: the spatial variation of the topological charge density induces half skyrmions branching from the stripe domains, and these half skyrmions overcome the surface tension and break away from the stripe domain, resulting in the generation of skyrmions. The details were observed by employing Joule heating to overcome the pinning effect and manipulating the strength of the SOT to induce the branching and breaking of half skyrmions. These findings offer new insights into skyrmion generation and serve as an important step towards the development of highly efficient devices for processing and computing based on skyrmionics.

Magnetic Skyrmions above Room Temperature in a van der Waals Ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2.

2D van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnetic crystals are a promising platform for innovative spintronic devices based on magnetic skyrmions, thanks to their high flexibility and atomic thickness stability. However, room-temperature skyrmion-hosting vdW materials are scarce, which poses a challenge for practical applications. In this study, a chemical vapor transport (CVT) approach is employed to synthesize Fe3GaTe2 crystals and room-temperature Néel skyrmions are observed in Fe3GaTe2 nanoflakes above 58 nm in thickness through in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (L-TEM). Upon an optimized field cooling procedure, zero-field hexagonal skyrmion lattices are successfully generated in nanoflakes with an extended thickness range (30-180 nm). Significantly, these skyrmion lattices remain stable up to 355 K, setting a new record for the highest temperature at which skyrmions can be hosted. The research establishes Fe3GaTe2 as an emerging above-room-temperature skyrmion-hosting vdW material, holding great promise for future spintronics.

Strain-Induced Reversible Motion of Skyrmions at Room Temperature.

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected swirling spin textures with great potential for future spintronic applications. The ability to induce skyrmion motion using mechanical strain not only stimulates the exploration of exotic physics but also affords the opportunity to develop energy-efficient spintronic devices. However, the experimental realization of strain-driven skyrmion motion remains a formidable challenge. Herein, we demonstrate that the inhomogeneous uniaxial compressive strain can induce the movement of isolated skyrmions from regions of high strain to regions of low strain at room temperature, which was directly observed using an in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscope with a specially designed nanoindentation holder. We discover that the uniaxial compressive strain can transform skyrmions into a single domain with in-plane magnetization, resulting in the coexistence of skyrmions with a single domain along the direction of the strain gradient. Through comprehensive micromagnetic simulations, we reveal that the repulsive interactions between skyrmions and the single domain serve as the driving force behind the skyrmion motion. The precise control of skyrmion motion through strain provides exciting opportunities for designing advanced spintronic devices that leverage the intricate interplay between strain and magnetism.

Current-Induced Reversible Split of Elliptically Distorted Skyrmions in Geometrically Confined Fe3 Sn2 Nanotrack.

Skyrmions are swirling spin textures with topological characters promising for future spintronic applications. Skyrmionic devices typically rely on the electrical manipulation of skyrmions with a circular shape. However, manipulating elliptically distorted skyrmions can lead to numerous exotic magneto-electrical functions distinct from those of conventional circular skyrmions, significantly broadening the capability to design innovative spintronic devices. Despite the promising potential, its experimental realization so far remains elusive. In this study, the current-driven dynamics of the elliptically distorted skyrmions in geometrically confined magnet Fe3 Sn2 is experimentally explored. This study finds that the elliptical skyrmions can reversibly split into smaller-sized circular skyrmions at a current density of 3.8 × 1010 A m-2 with the current injected along their minor axis. Combined experiments with micromagnetic simulations reveal that this dynamic behavior originates from a delicate interplay of the spin-transfer torque, geometrical confinement, and pinning effect, and strongly depends on the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the elliptical skyrmions. The results indicate that the morphology is a new degree of freedom for manipulating the current-driven dynamics of skyrmions, providing a compelling route for the future development of spintronic devices.

Magnetic Skyrmions with Unconventional Helicity Polarization in a Van Der Waals Ferromagnet.

Skyrmion helicity, which defines the spin swirling direction, is a fundamental parameter that may be utilized to encode data bits in future memory devices. Generally, in centrosymmetric ferromagnets, dipole skyrmions with helicity of -π/2 and π/2 are degenerate in energy, leading to equal populations of both helicities. On the other hand, in chiral materials where the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) prevails and the dipolar interaction is negligible, only a preferred helicity is selected by the type of DMI. However, whether there is a rigid boundary between these two regimes remains an open question. Herein, the observation of dipole skyrmions with unconventional helicity polarization in a van der Waals ferromagnet, Fe5- δ GeTe2 , is reported. Combining magnetometry, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, electrical transport measurements, and micromagnetic simulations, the short-range superstructures in Fe5- δ GeTe2 resulting in a localized DMI contribution, which breaks the degeneracy of the opposite helicities and leads to the helicity polarization, is demonstrated. Therefore, the helicity feature in Fe5- δ GeTe2 is controlled by both the dipolar interaction and DMI that the former leads to Bloch-type skyrmions with helicity of ±π/2 whereas the latter breaks the helicity degeneracy. This work provides new insights into the skyrmion topology in van der Waals materials.

Superposition of Emergent Monopole and Antimonopole in CoTb Thin Films.

A three-dimensional singular point that consists of two oppositely aligned emergent monopoles is identified in continuous CoTb thin films, as confirmed by complementary techniques of resonant elastic x-ray scattering, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, and scanning transmission x-ray microscopy. This new type of topological defect can be regarded as a superposition of an emergent magnetic monopole and an antimonopole, around which the source and drain of the magnetic flux overlap in space. We experimentally prove that the observed spin twist seen in Lorentz transmission electron microscopy reveals the cross section of the superimposed three-dimensional structure, providing a straightforward strategy for the observation of magnetic singularities. Such a quasiparticle provides an excellent platform for studying the rich physics of emergent electromagnetism.

Chiral Helimagnetism and One-Dimensional Magnetic Solitons in a Cr-Intercalated Transition Metal Dichalcogenide.

Chiral magnets endowed with topological spin textures are expected to have promising applications in next-generation magnetic memories. In contrast to the well-studied 2D or 3D magnetic skyrmions, the authors report the discovery of 1D nontrivial magnetic solitons in a transition metal dichalcogenide 2H-TaS2 via precise intercalation of Cr elements. In the synthetic Cr1/3 TaS2 (CTS) single crystal, the coupling of the strong spin-orbit interaction from TaS2 and the chiral arrangement of the magnetic Cr ions evoke a robust Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. A magnetic helix having a short spatial period of ≈25 nm is observed in CTS via Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. In a magnetic field perpendicular to the helical axis, the helical spin structure transforms into a chiral soliton lattice (CSL) with the spin structure evolution being consistent with the chiral sine-Gordon theory, which opens promising perspectives for the application of CSL to fast-speed nonvolatile magnetic memories. This work introduces a new paradigm to soliton physics and provides an effective strategy for seeking novel 2D magnets.

Berry Phase Engineering in SrRuO3/SrIrO3/SrTiO3 Superlattices Induced by Band Structure Reconstruction.

The Berry phase, which reveals the intimate geometrical structure underlying quantum mechanics, plays a central role in the anomalous Hall effect. In this work, we observed a sign change of Berry curvatures at the interface between the ferromagnet SrRuO3 (SRO) layer and the SrIrO3 (SIO) layer with strong spin-orbit coupling. The negative Berry curvature at the interface, induced by the strongly spin-orbit-coupled Ir 5d bands near the Fermi level, makes the SRO/SIO interface different from the SRO layer that has a positive Berry curvature. These opposite Berry curvatures led to two anomalous Hall effect (AHE) channels with opposite signs at the SRO/SIO interface and in the SRO layer, respectively, resulting in a hump-like feature in the Hall resistivity loop. This observation offers a straightforward explanation of the hump-like feature that is usually associated with the chiral magnetic structure or magnetic skyrmions. Hence, this study provides evidence to oppose the widely accepted claim that magnetic skyrmions induce the hump-like feature.

Magnetotransport Mechanism of Individual Nanostructures via Direct Magnetoresistance Measurement in situ SEM.

The accurate magnetoresistance (MR) measurement of individual nanostructures is essential and important for either the enrichment of fundamental knowledge of the magnetotransport mechanism or the facilitation of desired design of magnetic nanostructures for various technological applications. Herein, we report a deep investigation on the magnetotransport mechanism of a single CoCu/Cu multilayered nanowire via direct MR measurement using our invented magnetotransport instrument in situ scanning electron microscope. Off-axis electron holography experiments united with micromagnetic simulation prove that the CoCu layers in CoCu/Cu multilayered nanowires form a single-domain structure, in which the alignment of magnetic moments is mainly determined by shape anisotropy. The MR of the single CoCu/Cu multilayered nanowire is measured to be only 1.14% when the varied external field is applied along the nanowire length axis, which matches with the theoretical prediction of the granular film model. Density functional theory calculations further disclose that spin-dependent scattering at the interface between magnetic and nonmagnetic layers is responsible for the intrinsic magnetotransport mechanism.

Electron Beam Lithography of Magnetic Skyrmions.

The emergence of magnetic skyrmions, topological spin textures, has aroused tremendous interest in studying the rich physics related to their topology. While skyrmions promise high-density and energy-efficient magnetic memory devices for information technology, the manifestation of their nontrivial topology through single skyrmions and ordered and disordered skyrmion lattices could also give rise to many fascinating physical phenomena, such as chiral magnon and skyrmion glass states. Therefore, generating skyrmions at designated locations on a large scale, while controlling the skyrmion patterns, is the key to advancing topological magnetism. Here, a new, yet general, approach to the "printing" of skyrmions with zero-field stability in arbitrary patterns on a massive scale in exchange-biased magnetic multilayers is presented. By exploiting the fact that the antiferromagnetic order can be reconfigured by local thermal excitations, a focused electron beam with a graphic pattern generator to "print" skyrmions is used, which is referred to as skyrmion lithography. This work provides a route to design arbitrary skyrmion patterns, thereby establishing the foundation for further exploration of topological magnetism.

Néel-type skyrmion in WTe2/Fe3GeTe2 van der Waals heterostructure.

The promise of high-density and low-energy-consumption devices motivates the search for layered structures that stabilize chiral spin textures such as topologically protected skyrmions. At the same time, recently discovered long-range intrinsic magnetic orders in the two-dimensional van der Waals materials provide a new platform for the discovery of novel physics and effects. Here we demonstrate the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and Néel-type skyrmions are induced at the WTe2/Fe3GeTe2 interface. Transport measurements show the topological Hall effect in this heterostructure for temperatures below 100 K. Furthermore, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy is used to directly image Néel-type skyrmion lattice and the stripe-like magnetic domain structures as well. The interfacial coupling induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is estimated to have a large energy of 1.0 mJ m-2. This work paves a path towards the skyrmionic devices based on van der Waals layered heterostructures.

Direct imaging of an inhomogeneous electric current distribution using the trajectory of magnetic half-skyrmions.

The direct imaging of current density vector distributions in thin films has remained a daring challenge. Here, we report that an inhomogeneous current distribution can be mapped directly by the trajectories of magnetic half-skyrmions driven by an electrical current in Pt/Co/Ta trilayer, using polar magneto-optical Kerr microscopy. The half-skyrmion carries a topological charge of 0.5 due to the presence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, which leads to the half-skyrmion Hall effect. The Hall angle of half-skyrmions is independent of current density and can be reduced to as small as 4° by tuning the thickness of the Co layer. The Hall angle is so small that the elongation path of half-skyrmion approximately delineates the invisible current flow as demonstrated in both a continuous film and a curved track. Our work provides a practical technique to directly map inhomogeneous current distribution even in complex geometries for both fundamental research and industrial applications.

Current-Induced Helicity Reversal of a Single Skyrmionic Bubble Chain in a Nanostructured Frustrated Magnet.

Helicity indicates the in-plane magnetic-moment swirling direction of a skyrmionic configuration. The ability to reverse the helicity of a skyrmionic bubble via purely electrical means has been predicted in frustrated magnetic systems; however, it has been challenging to observe this experimentally. The current-driven helicity reversal of the skyrmionic bubble in a nanostructured frustrated Fe3 Sn2 magnet is experimentally demonstrated. The critical current density required to trigger the helicity reversal is 109 -1010 A m-2 , with a corresponding pulse-width varying from 1 µs to 100 ns. Computational simulations reveal that both the pinning effect and dipole-dipole interaction play a crucial role in the helicity reversal process.

Electric-Field-Enhanced Bulk Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in GdFe/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.7Ti0.3O3 Multiferroic Heterostructure.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is important for increasing the information storage density in the perpendicular magnetic recording media, and for rare-earth-transition-metal alloys with bulk perpendicular magnetic anisotropy that generate great research interest due to their abundant interesting phenomena, such as fast domain wall motion and skyrmion. Here, we deposit amorphous GdFe ferrimagnetic films on Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.7Ti0.3O3 ferroelectric substrate and investigate the effect of electric-field-induced piezostrain on its bulk perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The anomalous Hall effect and polar Kerr image measurements suggest an enhanced bulk perpendicular magnetic anisotropy by electric field, which originates from a positive magnetoelastic anisotropy due to the positive magnetostriction coefficient of the GdFe film and the electric-field-induced tensile strain along the z axis in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.7Ti0.3O3 ferroelectric substrate. Our results enrich the electrical control of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and are useful for designing spintronic devices based on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

Manipulating the Topology of Nanoscale Skyrmion Bubbles by Spatially Geometric Confinement.

The discovery of magnetic skyrmion bubbles in centrosymmetric magnets has been receiving increasing interest from the research community, due to the fascinating physics of topological spin textures and its possible applications to spintronics. However, key challenges remain, such as how to manipulate the nucleation of skyrmion bubbles to exclude the trivial bubbles or metastable skyrmion bubbles that usually coexist with skyrmion bubbles in the centrosymmetric magnets. Here, we report having performed this task by applying spatially geometric confinement to a centrosymmetric frustrated Fe3Sn2 magnet. We demonstrate that the spatially geometric confinement can indeed stabilize the skyrmion bubbles by effectively suppressing the formation of trivial bubbles and metastable skyrmion bubbles. We also show that the critical magnetic field for the nucleation of the skyrmion bubbles in the confined Fe3Sn2 nanostripes is drastically less, by an order of magnitude, than that required in the thin plate without geometrical confinement. By analyzing how the width and thickness of the nanostripes affect the spin textures of skyrmion bubbles, we infer that the topological transition of skyrmion bubbles is closely related to the dipole-dipole interaction, which we find is consistent with theoretical simulations. The results presented here bring us closer to achieving the fabrication of skyrmion-based racetrack memory devices.

Spin-momentum locking and spin-orbit torques in magnetic nano-heterojunctions composed of Weyl semimetal WTe2.

Spin-orbit torque has recently been intensively investigated for the purposes of manipulating the magnetization in magnetic nano-devices and understanding fundamental physics. Therefore, the search for novel materials or material combinations that exhibit a strong enough spin-torque effect has become one of the top priorities in this field of spintronics. Weyl semimetal, a new topological material that features open Fermi arc with strong spin-orbit coupling and spin-momentum locking effect, is naturally expected to exhibit an enhanced spin-torque effect in magnetic nano-devices. Here we observe a significantly enhanced spin conductivity, which is associated with the field-like torque at low temperatures. The enhancement is obtained in the b-axis WTe2/Py bilayers of nano-devices but not observed in the a-axis of WTe2/Py nano-devices, which can be ascribed to the enhanced spin accumulation by the spin-momentum locking effect of the Fermi arcs of the Weyl semimetal WTe2.