Multidomain Skyrmion Lattice State in Cu₂OSeO₃

TLDR

Magnetic skyrmions in chiral magnets are nanoscale, topologically protected magnetization swirls that promise spin‑tronic memory carriers, and observing and manipulating them at the surface is essential for future applications. Soft resonant elastic X‑ray scattering at the L3 edge of 3d metals probes magnetic order with ~50 nm depth, and by applying a magnetic field off the major cubic axes the single‑domain 6‑fold skyrmion lattice in Cu₂OSeO₃ can be split into multidomain configurations. We demonstrate a controlled creation of a multidomain skyrmion state near the surface of Cu₂OSeO₃, opening a new route to locally manipulate and engineer skyrmions for future applications.

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions in chiral magnets are nanoscale, topologically protected magnetization swirls that are promising candidates for spintronics memory carriers. Therefore, observing and manipulating the skyrmion state on the surface level of the materials are of great importance for future applications. Here, we report a controlled way of creating a multidomain skyrmion state near the surface of a Cu2OSeO3 single crystal, observed by soft resonant elastic X-ray scattering. This technique is an ideal tool to probe the magnetic order at the L3 edge of 3d metal compounds giving an average depth sensitivity of ∼50 nm. The single-domain 6-fold-symmetric skyrmion lattice can be broken up into domains, overcoming the propagation directions imposed by the cubic anisotropy by applying the magnetic field in directions deviating from the major cubic axes. Our findings open the door to a new way to manipulate and engineer the skyrmion state locally on the surface or on the level of individual skyrmions, which will enable applications in the future.