# Oriented Three-Dimensional Magnetic Biskyrmion in MnNiGa Bulk Crystals

**Authors:** Xiyang Li, Shilei Zhang, Hang Li, Diego Alba Venero, Jonathan S White,, Robert Cubitt, Qingzhen Huang, Jie Chen, Lunhua He, Gerrit van der Laan,, Wenhong Wang, Thorsten Hesjedal, and Fangwei Wang

arXiv: 1902.09708 · 2019-03-18

## TL;DR

This study reveals that biskyrmions in MnNiGa bulk crystals are three-dimensional, disordered structures with in-plane symmetry aligned by magnetocrystalline anisotropy, challenging the view of them as surface-confined objects.

## Contribution

It provides the first investigation of the three-dimensional form factor of biskyrmions in bulk crystals using small angle neutron scattering.

## Key findings

- Biskyrmions are disordered in bulk MnNiGa.
- Their in-plane symmetry axes align with crystallographic directions.
- Magnetocrystalline anisotropy influences biskyrmion orientation.

## Abstract

A biskyrmion consists of two bound, topologically stable skyrmion spin textures. These coffee-bean-shaped objects have been observed in real-space in thin plates using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM). From LTEM imaging alone, it is not clear whether biskyrmions are surface-confined objects, or, analogously to skyrmions in non-centrosymmetric helimagnets, three-dimensional tube-like structures in bulk sample. Here, we investigate the biskyrmion form factor in single- and polycrystalline MnNiGa samples using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). We find that biskyrmions are not long-range ordered, not even in single-crystals. Surprisingly all of the disordered biskyrmions have their in-plane symmetry axis aligned along certain directions, governed by the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. This anisotropic nature of biskyrmions may be further exploited to encode information.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1902.09708