A room temperature polar ferromagnetic metal

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a novel polar ferromagnetic metal with a layered structure that exhibits room-temperature skyrmions and Rashba-Edelstein effects, opening new avenues for spintronics applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new layered polar magnetic system, AA'-stacked (Fe0.5Co0.5)5-xGeTe2, with room-temperature skyrmions and structural insights into Co-substitution effects.

Findings

Exhibits Neel-type skyrmion lattice at room temperature

Displays Rashba-Edelstein effect at room temperature

Structural transition to polar phase at 50% Co substitution

Abstract

The advent of long-range magnetic order in non-centrosymmetric compounds has stimulated interest in the possibility of exotic spin transport phenomena and topologically protected spin textures for applications in next-generation spintronics. This work reports a novel wurtzite-structure polar magnetic metal, identified as AA'-stacked (Fe0.5Co0.5)5-xGeTe2, which exhibits a Neel-type skyrmion lattice as well as a Rashba-Edelstein effect at room temperature. Atomic resolution imaging of the structure reveals a structural transition as a function of Co-substitution, leading to the polar phase at 50% Co. This discovery reveals an unprecedented layered polar magnetic system for investigating intriguing spin topologies and ushers in a promising new framework for spintronics.