Topological skyrmions in monolayer multiferroic MoPtGe2S6

TL;DR

This study explores the magnetic properties of monolayer MoPtGe2S6, revealing electrically controllable skyrmions stabilized at room temperature, which could advance spintronic device development.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence and electrical control of topological skyrmions in monolayer MoPtGe2S6, a novel 2D multiferroic material, using first-principles and micromagnetic simulations.

Findings

Skyrmions stabilized at zero magnetic field in MoPtGe2S6

Electric polarization controls skyrmion chirality via DMI reversal

Magnetic field tunes skyrmion size and topological charge

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) multiferroic materials with coexisting ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism have garnered substantial attention for their intriguing physical properties and diverse promising applications in spintronics. For example, multiferroic materials with electronically controlled broken central symmetry provide a versatile platform for designing and manipulating topological skyrmions and diverse spintronic applications. Here, we investigate the complex magnetic properties of room-temerature multiferroic material MoPtGe2S6 and its electrical control of topological skyrmions using first-principles calculations and atomistic micromagnetic simulations. A sizable Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) (2.1 meV) is found in the multiferroic material MoPtGe2S6 with an electrically polarized ground state. The magnetic skyrmions can be stabilized in monolayer MoPtGe2S6 under zero magnetic field, and the chirality of skyrmions can be reversed with electric field-induced flipping of electrical polarization due to the reversed chirality of the DMI. Furthermore, an external magnetic fielc can reverse the magnetization direction and topological charge of the skyrmions as well as tune the size of skyrmions. These results demonstrate that the monolayer MoPtGe2S6 can enrich the 2D skyrmion community and pave the way for electronically controlled spintronic devices.