Nanoscale Noncollinear Spin Textures in Thin Films of a D2d Heusler Compound

Sharma AK, Jena J, Rana KG, Markou A, Meyerheim HL, Mohseni K, Srivastava AK, Kostanoskiy I, Felser C, Parkin SSP (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Advanced Materials Wiley

Book Volume: 33

Article Number: 2101323

Journal Issue: 32

DOI: 10.1002/adma.202101323

Abstract

Magnetic nano-objects, namely antiskyrmions and Bloch skyrmions, have been found to coexist in single-crystalline lamellae formed from bulk crystals of inverse tetragonal Heusler compounds with D2d symmetry. Here evidence is shown for magnetic nano-objects in epitaxial thin films of Mn2RhSn formed by magnetron sputtering. These nano-objects exhibit a wide range of sizes with stability with respect to magnetic field and temperature that is similar to single-crystalline lamellae. However, the nano-objects do not form well-defined arrays, nor is any evidence found for helical spin textures. This is speculated to likely be a consequence of the poorer homogeneity of chemical ordering in the thin films. However, evidence is found for elliptically distorted nano-objects along perpendicular crystallographic directions within the epitaxial films, which is consistent with elliptical Bloch skyrmions observed in single-crystalline lamellae. Thus, these measurements provide strong evidence for the formation of noncollinear spin textures in thin films of Mn2RhSn. Using these films, it is shown that individual nano-objects can be deleted using a local magnetic field from a magnetic tip and collections of nano-objects can be similarly written. These observations suggest a path toward the use of these objects in thin films with D2d symmetry as magnetic memory elements.

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik (MSP) / Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics DE Germany (DE) Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe (MPI CPfS) / Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Sharma, A.K., Jena, J., Rana, K.G., Markou, A., Meyerheim, H.L., Mohseni, K.,... Parkin, S.S.P. (2021). Nanoscale Noncollinear Spin Textures in Thin Films of a D2d Heusler Compound. Advanced Materials, 33(32). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202101323

MLA:

Sharma, Ankit K., et al. "Nanoscale Noncollinear Spin Textures in Thin Films of a D2d Heusler Compound." Advanced Materials 33.32 (2021).

BibTeX: Download