300-times-increased diffusive skyrmion dynamics and effective pinning reduction by periodic field excitation

Abstract

Thermally induced skyrmion dynamics, as well as skyrmion pinning effects, in thin films have attracted significant interest. While pinning poses challenges in deterministic skyrmion devices and slows down skyrmion diffusion, for applications in non-conventional computing, both pinning of an appropriate strength and skyrmion diffusion speed are key. Here, periodic field excitations are employed to realize an increase of the skyrmion diffusion by more than two orders of magnitude. Amplifying the excitation, a drastic reduction of the effec tive skyrmion pinning, is reported, and a transition from pinning-dominated dif fusive hopping to dynamics approaching free diffusion is observed. By tailoring the field oscillation frequency and amplitude, a continuous tuning of the effec tive pinning and skyrmion dynamics is demonstrated, which is a key asset and enabler for non-conventional computing applications. It is found that the peri odic excitations additionally allow stabilization of skyrmions at different sizes for field values that are inaccessible in static systems, opening up new approaches to ultrafast skyrmion motion by transiently exciting moving skyrmions.