Magnetic bilayer-skyrmions without skyrmion Hall effect

TL;DR

This paper proposes a bilayer magnetic system that completely suppresses the skyrmion Hall effect, enabling straight, fast skyrmion motion for potential use in ultradense memory and information processing devices.

Contribution

Introducing a bilayer antiferromagnetic-coupled system to eliminate the skyrmion Hall effect without losing topological protection.

Findings

Skyrmion pair can be nucleated via vertical current injection.

Skyrmion pair can be displaced by current-induced spin torque.

Skyrmion Hall effect is fully suppressed, enabling straight skyrmion motion.

Abstract

Arising from emergent electromagnetic field of magnetic skyrmions due to their nontrivial topology, the skyrmion Hall effect might be a roadblock for practical applications since any longitudinal motions of skyrmions in nanotrack is accompanied by a transverse motion. A direct consequence of such an effect is easy destruction of skyrmions at the nanotrack edges during their fast motions along the nanotrack, despite their topological protection. Here we propose an entirely novel solution of completely inhibiting such skyrmion Hall effect without affecting its topological properties based on a antiferromagnetic-coupling bilayer system. We show that a pair of magnetic skyrmions can be nucleated in such a bilayer system through vertical current injection or converted from a current-driven domain-wall pair. Once nucleated, the skyrmion pair can be displaced through current-induced spin torque either from a vertical injected current or in-plane current. The skyrmion Hall effect is completely suppressed due to the cancellation of back-action forces acting on each individual skyrmion, resulting in a straight and fast motion of skyrmions along the current direction. This proposal will be of fundamental interests by introducing the bilayer degree of freedom into the system. Moreover, it provides an easy way to engineer the transport properties of the skyrmionic devices to achieve desired performance, making it highly promising for practical applications such as ultradense memory and information-processing devices based on skyrmions.