Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems

Abstract Magnetic skyrmionic structures, including magnetic skyrmions and antiskyrmions, are characterized by swirling spin textures with non-trivial topologies. They are featured with specific topological charges, Q, which are of crucial importance in determining their topological properties. Owing...

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Main Authors: Heng Niu, Han Gyu Yoon, Hee Young Kwon, Zhiyuan Cheng, Siqi Fu, Hongying Zhu, Bingfeng Miao, Liang Sun, Yizheng Wu, Andreas K. Schmid, Kai Liu, Changyeon Won, Haifeng Ding, Gong Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58529-4
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author Heng Niu
Han Gyu Yoon
Hee Young Kwon
Zhiyuan Cheng
Siqi Fu
Hongying Zhu
Bingfeng Miao
Liang Sun
Yizheng Wu
Andreas K. Schmid
Kai Liu
Changyeon Won
Haifeng Ding
Gong Chen
author_facet Heng Niu
Han Gyu Yoon
Hee Young Kwon
Zhiyuan Cheng
Siqi Fu
Hongying Zhu
Bingfeng Miao
Liang Sun
Yizheng Wu
Andreas K. Schmid
Kai Liu
Changyeon Won
Haifeng Ding
Gong Chen
author_sort Heng Niu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Magnetic skyrmionic structures, including magnetic skyrmions and antiskyrmions, are characterized by swirling spin textures with non-trivial topologies. They are featured with specific topological charges, Q, which are of crucial importance in determining their topological properties. Owing to the invariance of the chiral nature, it is generally believed that Q is conserved in a given magnetic skyrmionic structure and is hard to alter. Here, we experimentally realize the control of Q of magnetic skyrmionic structures at room temperature in a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) platform with spatially alternating signs. Depending on how many times it crosses the interfaces between DMI regions with opposite signs, the magnetic skyrmionic structures possess different Q. Modifying the DMI energy landscape through chemisorbed oxygen, a magnetic topological transition is realized. This creation and manipulation of magnetic skyrmionic structures with controllable Q, in particular the DMI-stabilized thin-film antiskyrmions and high-Q skyrmionic structures, enables a new degree of freedom to control their dynamics via a novel DMI confinement effect. Our findings open up an unexplored avenue on various topological magnetic skyrmionic structures and their potential applications.
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spelling doaj-art-98369616efba46a8b39ae5df4e1d5af02025-08-20T02:12:02ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-04-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-58529-4Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systemsHeng Niu0Han Gyu Yoon1Hee Young Kwon2Zhiyuan Cheng3Siqi Fu4Hongying Zhu5Bingfeng Miao6Liang Sun7Yizheng Wu8Andreas K. Schmid9Kai Liu10Changyeon Won11Haifeng Ding12Gong Chen13National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityDepartment of Physics, Kyung Hee UniversityCenter for Semiconductor Technology, Korea Institute of Science and TechnologyNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityDepartment of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Advanced Materials Laboratory, Fudan UniversityNCEM, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryPhysics Department, Georgetown UniversityDepartment of Physics, Kyung Hee UniversityNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Department of Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing UniversityAbstract Magnetic skyrmionic structures, including magnetic skyrmions and antiskyrmions, are characterized by swirling spin textures with non-trivial topologies. They are featured with specific topological charges, Q, which are of crucial importance in determining their topological properties. Owing to the invariance of the chiral nature, it is generally believed that Q is conserved in a given magnetic skyrmionic structure and is hard to alter. Here, we experimentally realize the control of Q of magnetic skyrmionic structures at room temperature in a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) platform with spatially alternating signs. Depending on how many times it crosses the interfaces between DMI regions with opposite signs, the magnetic skyrmionic structures possess different Q. Modifying the DMI energy landscape through chemisorbed oxygen, a magnetic topological transition is realized. This creation and manipulation of magnetic skyrmionic structures with controllable Q, in particular the DMI-stabilized thin-film antiskyrmions and high-Q skyrmionic structures, enables a new degree of freedom to control their dynamics via a novel DMI confinement effect. Our findings open up an unexplored avenue on various topological magnetic skyrmionic structures and their potential applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58529-4
spellingShingle Heng Niu
Han Gyu Yoon
Hee Young Kwon
Zhiyuan Cheng
Siqi Fu
Hongying Zhu
Bingfeng Miao
Liang Sun
Yizheng Wu
Andreas K. Schmid
Kai Liu
Changyeon Won
Haifeng Ding
Gong Chen
Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems
Nature Communications
title Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems
title_full Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems
title_fullStr Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems
title_full_unstemmed Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems
title_short Magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction systems
title_sort magnetic skyrmionic structures with variable topological charges in engineered dzyaloshinskii moriya interaction systems
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58529-4
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