Strain engineering of magnetic anisotropy in the kagome magnet Fe3Sn2

TL;DR

This study demonstrates reversible control of magnetic textures in Fe3Sn2 using strain, revealing how tensile strain influences skyrmion structures and magnetic anisotropy, with implications for spintronic device development.

Contribution

It provides detailed local observations of strain-induced magnetic texture control in a kagome magnet, combining experimental imaging and simulations.

Findings

Tensile strain modifies dipolar skyrmion structures.

Magnetization switches between out-of-plane and in-plane configurations.

Quantitative analysis of magnetic domain wall transformations.

Abstract

The ability to control magnetism with strain offers innovative pathways for the modulation of magnetic domain configurations and for the manipulation of magnetic states in materials on the nanoscale. Although the effect of strain on magnetic domains has been recognized since the early work of C. Kittel, detailed local observations have been elusive. Here, we use mechanical strain to achieve reversible control of magnetic textures in a kagome-type Fe3Sn2 ferromagnet without the use of an external electric current or magnetic field in situ in a transmission electron microscope at room temperature. We use Fresnel defocus imaging, off-axis electron holography and micromagnetic simulations to show that tensile strain modifies the structures of dipolar skyrmions and switches their magnetization between out-of-plane and in-plane configurations. We also present quantitative measurements of magnetic domain wall structures and their transformations as a function of strain. Our results demonstrate the fundamental importance of anisotropy effects and their interplay with magnetoelastic and magnetocrystalline energies, providing new opportunities for the development of strain-controlled devices for spintronic applications.