Elastic Dislocation-based Skyrmion Traps: Fundamentals and Applications

TL;DR

This paper explores how elastic dislocations can trap and control skyrmions in magnetic materials, linking topological elasticity with topological magnetism for potential low-power spintronic devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism where dislocations act as shallow traps for skyrmions, combining classical and quantum analyses to propose new device concepts.

Findings

Dislocations serve as shallow traps for skyrmions.

Quantum states of skyrmion motion are identified.

Proposed device uses dislocation arrays to control skyrmion movement.

Abstract

Topologically secure spin configurations, such as skyrmions and bimerons, offer a compelling alternative to conventional magnetic domains, potentially enabling high-density, low-power spintronic devices. These pseudo-particles, characterized by their swirling spin textures and nontrivial topological charges, are prevalent and notably influence their electronic, magnetic, and mechanical traits. This paper provides an in-depth overview of the interaction between a screw dislocation within a distorted magnetic lattice, exploring possible coupling mechanisms and establishing a promising link between two disparate topics in materials science: topological magnetism and topological elasticity. We first provide a classical analysis of skyrmion motion that reveals the dislocations as shallow traps on the magnetic texture. Afterwards, we provide an analysis of the quantized motion of the skyrmion and identify its quantum states. We conclude by illustrating how the ideas in our paper can be implemented in simple yet compelling devices based on the shallow traps from an array of dislocations acting as frets in a race-track, controlling the motion with a low current activation mechanism.