Emergent Skyrmions in Cr_0.85Te nanoflakes at Room Temperature

Chiral noncollinear magnetic nanostructures, such as skyrmions, are intriguing spin configurations with significant potential for magnetic memory technologies. However, the limited availability of 2D magnetic materials that host skyrmions with Curie temperatures above room temperature presents a major challenge for practical implementation. Chromium tellurides exhibit diverse spin configurations and remarkable stability under ambient conditions, making them a promising platform for fundamental spin physics research and the development of innovative 2D spintronic devices. Here, domain structures of Cr_0.85Te nanoflakes synthesized via chemical vapor deposition are investigated, using magnetic force microscopy at room temperature. The results reveal that the domain width of the as-grown nanoflakes scales with the square root of their thicknesses. Notably, the emergence and annihilation of skyrmions are observed, which can be reversibly controlled by external magnetic fields and thermal excitation in ambient air. Micromagnetic simulations suggest that the emergence of skyrmions in Cr_0.85Te nanoflakes arises from inversion symmetry breaking due to compositional gradients across the sample thickness, rather than the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying skyrmion formation in 2D ferromagnets and open exciting possibilities for manipulating domain structures at room temperature, offering practical pathways for developing next-generation spintronic devices.