Empirical correlation between the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction and work function in metallic magnetic trilayers

TL;DR

This paper experimentally demonstrates that the Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction (DMI) strength in magnetic trilayers correlates with the work functions of interfaced nonmagnetic layers, guiding material selection for enhanced chiral magnetic objects.

Contribution

It reveals a direct correlation between DMI strength and work function differences in metallic trilayers, providing a new guideline for material engineering.

Findings

DMI strength depends mainly on the work functions of nonmagnetic layers.

A clear correlation exists between DMI and intrinsic material parameters.

Material selection can be guided by work function considerations to optimize DMI.

Abstract

The Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction (DMI) generates intriguing chiral magnetic objects such as magnetic skyrmions and chiral domain walls that can be used as building blocks in emerging magnetic nanodevices. To achieve better stability and functionality of these chiral objects, it is essential to achieve a larger DMI. In this paper, we report an experimental observation that in magnetic trilayer films, the DMI strength is mainly determined by the work functions of the nonmagnetic layers interfaced with the magnetic layer. The clear correlation with the intrinsic material parameters provides a guideline for material selection to engineer the DMI strength.