Imprint from ferromagnetic skyrmions in an antiferromagnet via exchange bias

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the imprinting of ferromagnetic skyrmions into an antiferromagnetic film at room temperature using exchange bias, enabling potential applications in antiferromagnetic skyrmion-based devices.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of skyrmion imprinting in an antiferromagnet via exchange bias at room temperature.

Findings

Imprinted spin textures observed in IrMn antiferromagnet.

Skyrmion imprinting achieved at zero external magnetic field.

High-resolution imaging confirmed interface spin structures.

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures holding great potential as nanoscale information carriers. Recently, skyrmions have been predicted in antiferromagnets, with key advantages in terms of stability, size, and dynamical properties over their ferromagnetic analogs. However, their experimental demonstration is still lacking. Here, we show the imprint from ferromagnetic skyrmions into a thin film of an IrMn antiferromagnet, at room temperature and zero external magnetic field, using exchange-bias. Using high-spatial-resolution x-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy (XMCD-PEEM), we observed the imprinted spin textures within the IrMn from the XMCD signal of the uncompensated Mn spins at the interface with the ferromagnet. This result opens up a path for logic and memory devices based on skyrmion manipulation in antiferromagnets.