Lifetime of racetrack skyrmions

TL;DR

This paper presents a first-principles method to calculate the lifetime of racetrack skyrmions, considering temperature, magnetic field, and track width, crucial for their stability in future information technology.

Contribution

It introduces a predictive, parameter-free approach combining transition state theory and atomistic spin models to evaluate skyrmion stability.

Findings

Skyrmion lifetime depends on magnetic field and track width.

Two main annihilation mechanisms: boundary escape and interior collapse.

Calculated lifetimes align with experimental data for Pd/Fe/Ir(111).

Abstract

The skyrmion racetrack is a promising concept for future information technology. There, binary bits are carried by nanoscale spin swirls -- skyrmions -- driven along magnetic strips. Stability of the skyrmions is a critical issue for the realization of this technology. Here we demonstrate that the racetrack skyrmion lifetime can be calculated from first principles as a function of temperature, magnetic field and track width. Our method combines harmonic transition state theory extended to include Goldstone modes, with an atomistic spin Hamiltonian parametrized from density functional theory calculations. We demonstrate that two annihilation mechanisms contribute to the skyrmion stability: At low external magnetic field, escape through the track boundary prevails, but a crossover field exists, above which the collapse in the interior becomes dominant. Considering a Pd/Fe bilayer on an Ir(111) substrate as a well-established model system, the calculated lifetime is found to be consistent with reported experimental measurements. Our results open the door for predictive simulations, free from empirical parameters, to aid the design of skyrmion-based information technology.