Authors:	Casiraghi, Arianna Corte-León, Héctor Vafaee, Mehran Garcia-Sanchez, Felipe Durin, Gianfranco Pasquale, Massimo Jakob, Gerhard Kläui, Mathias Kazakova, Olga
Title:	Individual skyrmion manipulation by local magnetic field gradients
Online publication date:	14-Jan-2020
Year of first publication:	2019
Language:	english
Abstract:	Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures, stabilised in systems with strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). Several studies have shown that electrical currents can move skyrmions efficiently through spin-orbit torques. While promising for technological applications, current-driven skyrmion motion is intrinsically collective and accompanied by undesired heating effects. Here we demonstrate a new approach to control individual skyrmion positions precisely, which relies on the magnetic interaction between sample and a magnetic force microscopy (MFM) probe. We investigate perpendicularly magnetised X/CoFeB/MgO multilayers, where for X = W or Pt the DMI is sufficiently strong to allow for skyrmion nucleation in an applied field. We show that these skyrmions can be manipulated individually through the local field gradient generated by the scanning MFM probe with an unprecedented level of accuracy. Furthermore, we show that the probe stray field can assist skyrmion nucleation. Our proof-of-concepts results pave the way towards achieving current-free skyrmion control.
DDC:	530 Physik 530 Physics
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 08 Physik, Mathematik u. Informatik
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-248
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hebis:77-publ-594977
Version:	Accepted version
Publication type:	Zeitschriftenaufsatz
License:	In Copyright
Information on rights of use:	https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Journal:	Communications Physics 2
Pages or article number:	Art. 145
Publisher:	Springer Nature
Publisher place:	London
Issue date:	2019
ISSN:	2399-3650
Publisher URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42005-019-0242-5
Publisher DOI:	10.1038/s42005-019-0242-5
Appears in collections:	JGU-Publikationen