Switching of Skyrmion chirality by local heating

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale topological spin textures in ferromagnets.
• Their stability and electrical current-driven mobility make them promising for spintronic applications.
• Current methods for manipulating skyrmions, like electrical currents, face challenges in precise control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel method for switching the chirality of magnetic skyrmions.
• To investigate the mechanism of chirality switching induced by thermal stimuli.
• To explore the potential of skyrmion chirality for data storage in spintronic devices.

Main Methods:

• Micromagnetic simulations were employed to model magnetic thin films.
• A localized pulsed heat spot was introduced to interact with magnetic skyrmions.
• The expansion dynamics and magnetic moment rotations were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Pulsed heating caused magnetic skyrmions to expand.
• This expansion induced rotation of surrounding magnetic moments.
• Successful switching of skyrmion chirality was observed and confirmed.
• The process was found to be controllable and repeatable.

Conclusions:

• Pulsed heat spots provide an effective means to control magnetic skyrmion chirality.
• This thermal manipulation technique offers a new pathway for developing advanced spintronic memory and logic devices.
• The chirality of skyrmions can be utilized as a data bit for future information technologies.