High-Throughput Screening of Skyrmionic Janus Materials

Skyrmions are a class of topologically protected spin textures that may be stabilized by chiral interactions in noncentrosymmetric materials and hold promise for applications in spintronics. Thus far, only a handful of candidate van der Waals (vdW) materials that could host skyrmions have been proposed. We explore a large number of candidate Janus monolayers based on the crystal structures of MnSe₂ and Cr₂Cl₂O₂ for their potential to host skyrmions. We use high-throughput first-principles calculations to screen for monolayers that exhibit large chiral magnetic interactions. In addition, the thermodynamic behavior of spin textures in promising candidates is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. Our study identifies several novel Janus monolayers that are predicted to host topological spin textures. We predict the formation of elongated skyrmion-like textures in Mn₂IFO₂ and explain the underlying mechanism for this elongation. Our work investigates yet-unexplored Janus materials, creating avenues for the discovery of exotic spin textures.