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An enhancement of the spin-orbit effects arising on an interface between a ferromagnet (FM) and a heavy metal (HM) is possible through the strong breaking of the structural inversion symmetry in the layered films. Here, we show that an introduction of an ultrathin W interlayer between Co and Ru in Ru/Co/Ru films enables to preserve perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and simultaneously induce a large interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (iDMI). The study of the spin-wave propagation in the Damon-Eshbach geometry by Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy reveals the drastic increase in the iDMI value with the increase in W thickness (tW). The maximum iDMI of −3.1 erg/cm2 is observed for tW = 0.24 nm, which is 10 times larger than for the quasi-symmetrical Ru/Co/Ru films. We demonstrate the evidence of the spontaneous field-driven nucleation of isolated skyrmions supported by micromagnetic simulations. Magnetic force microscopy measurements reveal the existence of sub-100-nm skyrmions in the zero magnetic field. The ability to simultaneously control the strength of PMA and iDMI in quasi-symmetrical HM/FM/HM trilayer systems through the interface engineered inversion asymmetry at the nanoscale excites new fundamental and practical interest in ultrathin ferromagnets, which are a potential host for stable magnetic skyrmions.

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We experimentally study the structure and dynamics of magnetic domains in synthetic antiferromagnets based on Co/Ru/Co films. Dramatic effects arise from the interaction among the topological defects comprising the dual domain walls in these structures. Under applied magnetic fields, the dual domain walls propagate following the dynamics of bi-meronic (bi-vortex/bi-antivortex) topological defects built in the walls. Application of an external field triggers a rich dynamical response: The propagation depends on mutual orientation and chirality of bi-vortices and bi-antivortices in the domain walls. For certain configurations, we observe sudden jumps of composite domain walls in increasing field, which are associated with the decay of composite skyrmions. These features allow for the enhanced control of domain-wall motion in synthetic antiferromagnets with the potential of employing them as information carriers in future logic and storage devices.

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We explored the dynamic response of a vortex core in a circular nanomagnet by manipulating its dipole-dipole interaction with another vortex core confined locally on top of the nanomagnet. A clear frequency splitting is observed corresponding to the gyrofrequencies of the two vortex cores. The peak positions of the two resonance frequencies can be engineered by controlling the magnitude and direction of the external magnetic field. Both experimental and micromagnetic simulations show that the frequency spectra for the combined system is significantly dependent on the chirality of the circular nanomagnet and is asymmetric with respect to the external bias field. We attribute this result to the strong dynamic dipole-dipole interaction between the two vortex cores, which varies with the distance between them. The possibility of having multiple states in a single nanomagnet with vertical coupling could be of interest for magnetoresistive memories.