Synthesizing Skyrmion Molecules in Fe-Gd Thin Films

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the creation of room-temperature skyrmion molecules in engineered amorphous Fe-Gd thin films, highlighting the role of magnetic symmetry and stripe domain engineering in enabling skyrmion phases with potential technological applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to synthesize skyrmion molecules in amorphous Fe-Gd films using stripe domain engineering, emphasizing the influence of magnetic mirror symmetry over chiral exchange.

Findings

Room-temperature skyrmion molecules observed in Fe-Gd thin films

Stripe domain engineering enables skyrmion phase creation

Skyrmion internal structure determined by magnetic mirror symmetry

Abstract

We show that properly engineered amorphous Fe-Gd alloy thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exhibit room-temperature skyrmion molecules, or a pair of like-polarity, opposite-helicity skyrmions. Magnetic mirror symmetry planes present in the stripe phase, instead of chiral exchange, determine the internal skyrmion structure and the net achirality of the skyrmion phase. Our study shows that stripe domain engineering in amorphous alloy thin films may enable the creation of skyrmion phases with technologically desirable properties.