Creation and Destruction of Skyrmions via Electrical Modulation of Local Magnetic Anisotropy in Magnetic Thin Films

Abstract

Formation and dissolution of skyrmions via local modulation of magnetic anisotropy is theoretically explored in ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin-film structures. Using a micromagnetic simulation, the spatial and temporal evolution of spin textures are analyzed while the effect of externally controlled effective magnetic anisotropy is introduced for a finite duration. Simulation results clearly indicate that the Néel-type skyrmions can be excited and destroyed in a FM or an AFM layer in selected parameter windows, enabling deterministic encoding of logical states "1" and "0" in this physical system. The characteristic times for the dynamical responses are much faster in the AFMs, particularly in the creation process. The size of the excitation region can be scaled down to the sub-10 nm range in the radius. The investigation also examines the effect of inhomogeneous in-plane magnetic properties, further elucidating the feasibility in realistic conditions. Considering the low power and locally controlled nature of magnetic anisotropy modulation, this approach is expected to provide a highly efficient means for achieving skyrmion based devices. The AFMs offer a particularly promising opportunity.

Creation and annihilation of artificial magnetic skyrmions with the electric field

“…The ME coupling was also theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated to control the DMI induced magnetic skyrmions. [41][42][43][44] As an important member of the magnetic skyrmion family, the study of the electric-field induced nucleation and annihilation of artificial skyrmion are, however, still missing.…”

Regular and in-plane skyrmions and antiskyrmions from boundary instabilities

“…Due to different conditions required to create stable skyrmions or antiskyrmions, methods for their generation form an important piece of skyrmion related research. There are a number of theoretical proposals [18][19][20][21][22], as well as direct experimental observations of skyrmion generation [9,[23][24][25][26][27]. It is desirable to develop universal means for generating both skyrmions and antiskyrmions.…”