Magnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial particles with a potential application as information elements in future spintronic device architectures 1, 2 . While they are commonly portrayed as two dimensional objects, in reality magnetic skyrmions are thought to exist as elongated, tube-like objects extending through the thickness of the sample 3, 4 . The study of this skyrmion tube (SkT) state is highly relevant for investigating skyrmion metastability 5 and for implementation in recently proposed magnonic computing 6 . However, direct experimental imaging of skyrmion tubes has yet to be reported. Here, we demonstrate the first real-space observation of skyrmion tubes in a lamella of FeGe using resonant magnetic x-ray imaging and comparative micromagnetic simulations, confirming their extended structure.The formation of these structures at the edge of the sample highlights the importance of confinement and edge effects in the stabilisation of the SkT state, opening the door to further investigations into this unexplored dimension of the skyrmion spin texture.Skyrmion states are typically stabilised by the interplay of the ferromagnetic exchange and Zeeman energies with the Dzyalohsinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI) 7 . In ferromagnet/heavy metal multilayer thin films, interfacial DMI is induced by symmetry-breaking spin-orbit coupling at the interface between the layers, leading to the formation of Néel-type skyrmions [8][9][10] . Bulk DMI, arising due to the lack of centrosymmetry in the underlying crystal lattice, is responsible for the formation of Bloch-type skyrmions in a range of chiral ferromagnets [11][12][13][14][15] . In crystals of these bulk materials the skyrmion state is typically only at equilibrium in a limited range of applied magnetic field and temperature just below the Curie temperature, T c , forming a hexagonal skyrmion lattice (SkL) in a plane perpendicular to the applied magnetic field.2 Figure 1 | Visualisation of the skyrmion tube spin texture. Three dimensional visualisation of three magnetic skyrmion tubes from the micromagnetic simulations presented in this paper, illustrating their extended spin structure. The inset highlights the location of the magnetic Bloch point at the end of each skyrmion tube. 3The three dimensional visualisation in Fig. 1 depicts the extended spin structure of three magnetic skyrmion tubes. The dynamics of this skyrmion tube (SkT) state play an important role in the creation and annihilation of skyrmions. For example, metastable skyrmions, which are created beyond the equilibrium thermal range by rapid field cooling 16 , are thought to unwind into topologically trivial magnetic states through the motion of a magnetic Bloch point located at the end of each individual skyrmion tube 3, 5 . Real-space observation of this dimension of the SkT state and its associated dynamics requires an in-plane magnetic field applied perpendicular to the imaging axis. Electron imaging techniques such as Fresnel Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy (LTEM) 12, 13 , and elec...
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial chiral spin textures that have potential applications in next‐generation energy‐efficient and high‐density spintronic devices. In general, the chiral spins of skyrmions are stabilized by the noncollinear Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), originating from the inversion symmetry breaking combined with the strong spin–orbit coupling (SOC). Here, the strong SOC from topological insulators (TIs) is utilized to provide a large interfacial DMI in TI/ferrimagnet heterostructures at room temperature, resulting in small‐size (radius ≈ 100 nm) skyrmions in the adjacent ferrimagnet. Antiferromagnetically coupled skyrmion sublattices are observed in the ferrimagnet by element‐resolved scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy, showing the potential of a vanishing skyrmion Hall effect and ultrafast skyrmion dynamics. The line‐scan spin profile of the single skyrmion shows a Néel‐type domain wall structure and a 120 nm size of the 180° domain wall. This work demonstrates the sizable DMI and small skyrmions in TI‐based heterostructures with great promise for low‐energy spintronic devices.
Magnonics is a potential candidate for beyond CMOS and neuromorphic computing technologies with advanced phase encoded logic. However, nanoscale imaging of spin waves with full phase and magnetization amplitude information is a challenge. We show a generalized scanning transmission x-ray microscopy platform to get a complete understanding of spin waves, including the k-vector, phase, and absolute magnetization deflection angle. As an example, this is demonstrated using a 50 nm thin permalloy film where we find a maximum deflection angle of 1.5° and good agreement with the k-vector dispersion previously reported in the literature. With a spatial resolution approximately ten times better than any other methods for spin wave imaging, x-ray microscopy opens a vast range of possibilities for the observation of spin waves and various magnetic structures.
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