Physics Commons^™

Topological Spin Memory Of Antiferromagnetically Coupled Skyrmion Pairs In Co/Gd/Pt Multilayers, Xiao Wang, Alexandra R. Stuart, Mitchell S. Swyt, Carla M. Quispe Flores, Andy T. Clark, Adzo Fiagbenu, Rajesh V. Chopdekar, Pavel N. Lapa, Zhuyun Xiao, Dava Keavney, Richard Rosenberg, Michael Vogel, John E. Pearson, Suzanne G. E. Te Velthius, Axel Hoffmann, Kristen S. Buchanan, Xuemei Cheng

Physics Faculty Research and Scholarship

Antiferromagnetically (AFM) coupled skyrmions offer potential advantages for spintronic devices, including reduced dipolar fields that may enable smaller skyrmion sizes and a reduction of the skyrmion Hall effect. However, the topological stability of AFM-coupled skyrmions subjected to dramatic spin deformation through low-temperature cycling has not been investigated. Here we report the discovery of a topological spin memory effect for AFM-coupled skyrmion pairs in [Co/Gd/Pt]10 multilayered films. Photoemission electron microscopy imaging shows that bubble skyrmions in the multilayer that are stable at room temperature evolve into complex in-plane spin textures as the temperature is lowered and reform completely when the sample …