|
|||||
|
|
Electron Beam Lithography of Magnetic Skyrmions |
|
| Authors: | Yao Guang Yong Peng Zhengren Yan Yizhou Liu Junwei Zhang Xue Zeng Senfu Zhang Shilei Zhang David M. Burn Nicolas Jaouen Jinwu Wei Hongjun Xu Jiafeng Feng Chi Fang Gerrit van der Laan Thorsten Hesjedal Baoshan Cui Xixiang Zhang Guoqiang Yu Xiufeng Han |
| Affiliation: | 1. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China;2. Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000 China;3. Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000 China Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900 Saudi Arabia;4. School of Mathematics and Physics, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070 China;5. Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900 Saudi Arabia;6. ShanghaiTech Laboratory for Topological Physics, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210 China School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210 China;7. Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE UK;8. Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91192 France;9. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808 China;10. Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU UK;11. Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808 China;12. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 China |
| Abstract: | The emergence of magnetic skyrmions, topological spin textures, has aroused tremendous interest in studying the rich physics related to their topology. While skyrmions promise high-density and energy-efficient magnetic memory devices for information technology, the manifestation of their nontrivial topology through single skyrmions and ordered and disordered skyrmion lattices could also give rise to many fascinating physical phenomena, such as chiral magnon and skyrmion glass states. Therefore, generating skyrmions at designated locations on a large scale, while controlling the skyrmion patterns, is the key to advancing topological magnetism. Here, a new, yet general, approach to the “printing” of skyrmions with zero-field stability in arbitrary patterns on a massive scale in exchange-biased magnetic multilayers is presented. By exploiting the fact that the antiferromagnetic order can be reconfigured by local thermal excitations, a focused electron beam with a graphic pattern generator to “print” skyrmions is used, which is referred to as skyrmion lithography. This work provides a route to design arbitrary skyrmion patterns, thereby establishing the foundation for further exploration of topological magnetism. |
| Keywords: | electron beam lithography magnetic skyrmions skyrmion lattices transmission electron microscopy |