Magnetic Charge Propagation upon a 3D Artificial Spin-ice

TL;DR

This study visualizes magnetic charge dynamics on the surface of a 3D artificial spin-ice, revealing direction-dependent behaviors influenced by surface termination and coordination, advancing understanding of magnetic charge propagation in frustrated systems.

Contribution

It introduces a 3D artificial spin-ice that mimics bulk geometry, enabling direct visualization of magnetic charge dynamics and revealing surface-dependent behaviors.

Findings

Different magnetic charge dynamics along two principal directions.

Surface termination affects magnetic charge energetics and interactions.

Direct visualization of field-driven magnetic charge propagation.

Abstract

Magnetic charge propagation in bulk frustrated materials has yielded a paradigm-shift in science, allowing the symmetry between electricity and magnetism to be studied. Recent work is now suggesting magnetic charge dynamics upon the spin-ice surface may have important implications in determining the ordering and associated phase space. Here we detail a 3D artificial spin-ice, a 3D nanostructured array of magnetic islands which captures the exact geometry of bulk systems, allowing field-driven dynamics of magnetic charge to be directly visualized upon the surface. Using magnetic microscopy, we observe vastly different magnetic charge dynamics along two principle directions. These striking differences are found to be due to the surface-termination and associated coordination which yields different energetics and interaction strengths for magnetic charges upon the surface.