# Intrinsic skyrmions in monolayer Janus magnets

## TL;DR

This paper explores the existence and properties of intrinsic skyrmions in monolayer Janus magnets, revealing their stabilization mechanisms, size tunability, and potential for atomic-scale magnetic applications.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the presence of intrinsic skyrmions in specific monolayer Janus magnets using first-principles and micromagnetic simulations, highlighting their unique stabilization without external fields.

## Key findings

- Intrinsic skyrmions stabilized in MnSTe and MnSeTe monolayers at zero magnetic field.
- Skyrmion size and shape can be tuned by external magnetic fields.
- VSeTe forms magnetic domains instead of skyrmions due to in-plane easy axis.

## Abstract

Skyrmions are localized solitonic spin textures with protected topology, which are promising as information carriers in ultra-dense and energy-efficient logic and memory devices. Recently, magnetic skyrmions have been observed in magnetic thin films, and are stabilized by the extrinsic interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and/or external magnetic fields. The specific effects in magnetic monolayer materials have not been thoroughly studied. Here, we investigate the intrinsic magnetic skyrmions in a family of monolayer Janus van der Waals magnets, MnSTe, MnSeTe, VSeTe, and MnSSe, by the first-principles calculations combined with the micromagnetic simulations. The monolayer Janus MnSTe, MnSeTe, and VSeTe with out-of-plane geometric asymmetry and strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) have a large intrinsic DMI, which could stabilize a sub-50 nm intrinsic skyrmions in monolayer MnSTe and MnSeTe at zero magnetic field. While monolayer VSeTe with in-plane easy axis forms magnetic domain rather than skyrmions. Moreover, the size and shape of skyrmions can be tuned by an external magnetic field. Therefore, our work motivates a new vista for seeking intrinsic skyrmions in atomic-scale magnets.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1906.10836