Current-induced skyrmion generation and dynamics in symmetric bilayers

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 15765 - 6
• Main Authors: Hrabec, A., Sampaio, J., Belmeguenai, M., Gross, I., Weil, R., Chérif, S. M., Stashkevich, A., Jacques, V., Thiaville, A., Rohart, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 08.06.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 142/126; 639/301/119/1001; 639/925/357/997; Anisotropy; Condensed Matter; Electric currents; Energy; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Other; Physics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Symmetry; France
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15765

Magnetic skyrmions are quasiparticle-like textures which are topologically different from other states. Their discovery in systems with broken inversion symmetry sparked the search for materials containing such magnetic phase at room temperature. Their topological properties combined with the chirality-related spin–orbit torques make them interesting objects to control the magnetization at nanoscale. Here we show that a pair of coupled skyrmions of opposite chiralities can be stabilized in a symmetric magnetic bilayer system by combining Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) and dipolar coupling effects. This opens a path for skyrmion stabilization with lower DMI. We demonstrate in a device with asymmetric electrodes that such skyrmions can be independently written and shifted by electric current at large velocities. The skyrmionic nature of the observed quasiparticles is confirmed by the gyrotropic force. These results set the ground for emerging spintronic technologies where issues concerning skyrmion stability, nucleation and propagation are paramount. The creation of practical devices based on magnetic skyrmions depends on the development of methods to create and control stable individual skyrmions. Here, the authors present a bilayer device that uses dipolar interactions to stabilize skyrmions that can be manipulated using electric currents.