Observation of the Magnetic Skyrmion Lattice in a MnSi Nanowire by Lorentz TEM

Abstract

We report here the real-space observation of skyrmions and helical magnetic domains in a MnSi nanowire (NW) using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM). The MnSi NW was thinned to a rectangular cross-section by focused-ion beam milling to reduce obstructive Fresnel fringes. Helimagnetic domains, imaged as alternating bright and dark contrast stripes with an 18 nm period, were observed to be the spontaneous magnetic ground state at 6 K, while the hexagonal skyrmion lattice (SkX) with a domain diameter of 18 nm was observed under a normal magnetic field of 210 mT. Temperature-dependent measurements reveal that the SkX is stable over a larger range in this NW system (6-35 K) compared to the narrow temperature regime of skyrmion phase in bulk MnSi (26-30 K) and thin films of MnSi (5-23 K).