Electric field-induced creation and directional motion of domain walls and skyrmion bubbles

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how electric fields can create and control the directional motion of topological spin textures like domain walls and skyrmion bubbles in magnetic multilayers, promising low-power spintronic devices.

Contribution

It provides experimental and numerical evidence of electric field-induced creation and motion of topological spin textures at room temperature, advancing spintronic technology.

Findings

Electric fields induce directional motion of chiral domain walls.

Skyrmion bubbles are created and moved by electric field variations.

Potential for ultralow power skyrmion-based devices.

Abstract

Magnetization dynamics driven by an electric field could provide long-term benefits to information technologies because of its ultralow power consumption. Meanwhile, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in interfacially asymmetric multilayers consisting of ferromagnetic and heavy-metal layers can stabilize topological spin textures, such as chiral domain walls, skyrmions, and skyrmion bubbles. These topological spin textures can be controlled by an electric field, and hold promise for building advanced spintronic devices. Here, we present an experimental and numerical study on the electric field-induced creation and directional motion of topological spin textures in magnetic multilayer films and racetracks with thickness gradient and interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at room temperature. We find that the electric field-induced directional motion of chiral domain wall is accompanied with the creation of skyrmion bubbles at certain conditions. We also demonstrate that the electric field variation can induce motion of skyrmion bubbles. Our findings may provide opportunities for developing skyrmion-based devices with ultralow power consumption.