Control and imaging of interfacial patterned skyrmionic textures in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy multilayer systems

Abstract

In recent years, the discover of new and exciting magnetic properties has renewed the interest of the scientific community in the study of the spin-electric dependent transport at regular arrangements of micro and nano-structures, due to a great potential for applications in non-volatile magnetic memory devices, magnetic sensors with high resolution and a new generation of ultra-high-density recording media. Magnetic skyrmions are nontrivial spin textures that resist external perturbations, and thus are promising candidates for the spintronic device next generation. The main goal of this research proposal is to study skyrmionic textures obtained by the manipulation of geometric and magnetic parameters of magnetic multilayers presenting perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). By combining experiments (with an emphasis on magnetic field specific variation protocols and magnetization imaging) performed on systematic sets of multilayer samples with micromagnetic simulations, we will focus on understanding the effect of geometry, size, material, interactions, defects and impurities on the stability and dynamics of the skyrmionic textures. This project, led by Profa. Dra. Fanny Béron, of Universidade Estadual de Campinas, gathers a strong international team of researchers already involved in skyrmion investigation, but with complimentary expertise, and having access to an expressive specialized infrastructure that is unique in South America. It has a great potential to establish a fruitful synergy that should lead to important contributions on the hot topic of skyrmionic textures. (AU)