Manipulation of magnetic skyrmions in a locally modified synthetic antiferromagnetic racetrack

TL;DR

This study uses computational methods to explore how local modifications in synthetic antiferromagnetic racetracks can control skyrmion behavior, enabling precise manipulation for future memory applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to manipulate skyrmions via local modifications in synthetic antiferromagnetic racetracks, enhancing control for potential applications.

Findings

Skyrmions can be attracted, repelled, or trapped by locally modified regions.

The position of skyrmions can be precisely controlled.

Locally modified regions can be used to manipulate skyrmion dynamics.

Abstract

In skyrmion-based racetrack memories, the information encoded by skyrmions may be destroyed due to the skyrmion Hall effect, which can be surmounted by using synthetic antiferromagnetic racetracks. Hence, the manipulation of skyrmions in synthetic antiferromagnetic racetracks is important for practical applications. Here, we computationally study the interaction between a pair of skyrmions and a locally modified region in a synthetic antiferromagnetic racetrack, where the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy or thickness is locally adjusted to be different from that of the rest region of the racetrack. It is found that the skyrmions can be attracted, repelled, and even trapped by the locally modified region in a controllable manner. Besides, we demonstrate that the skyrmion location can be precisely determined by the locally modified region. The possible manipulation of skyrmions by utilizing locally modified regions in a synthetic antiferromagnetic racetrack may be useful for future skyrmion-based applications.