Topological Spin Textures in an Insulating van der Waals Ferromagnet

Topological Spin Textures in an Insulating van der Waals Ferromagnet

2024 | Sergey Grebenchuk, Conor McKeever, Magdalena Grzeszcyk, Zhaolong Chen, Makars Šiškins, Arthur R. C. McCray, Yue Li, Amanda K. Petford-Long, Charudatta M. Phatak, Duan Ruihuan, Liu Zheng, Kostya S. Novoselov, Elton J. G. Santos, and Maciej Koperski
This study explores the generation and control of topological spin textures in the insulating van der Waals ferromagnet CrBr₃. The research demonstrates that the interplay between sample thickness, external magnetic fields, and optical excitations can produce a variety of spin textures, including stripe domains, skyrmion crystals, and magnetic domains, which coexist in CrBr₃. High-resolution magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and large-scale micromagnetic simulations reveal a large region in the T-B phase diagram where these textures can be intrinsically selected or transformed via a phase-switch mechanism. Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) shows mixed chirality of the magnetic textures, which can be manipulated into Néel-type or hybrid-type via thickness engineering. The topological phase transformation between different magnetic objects is further inspected using photoluminescence optical probes, indicating the presence of exciton-skyrmion coupling. The findings suggest that vdW magnetic insulators are promising materials for manipulating and generating highly ordered skyrmion lattices relevant for device integration at the atomic level. The study also shows that the size of stripe domains and skyrmion crystals is strongly correlated with the thickness of CrBr₃ films, with different regimes identified based on film thickness. The T-B phase diagram reveals the coexistence of skyrmions, stripe domains, and magnetic textures under various conditions. Photoluminescence measurements reveal exciton-skyrmion coupling, with the saturation field being higher in the presence of skyrmions. The study highlights the potential of CrBr₃ as a unique platform for hosting skyrmion crystals stabilized by the interplay between dipolar fields and exchange energy in an insulating environment. The weak interlayer vdW coupling allows characterization of magnetization textures across a broad range of film thicknesses, temperatures, and magnetic fields. The results suggest that CrBr₃ could be a promising material for future spintronic applications due to its ability to host a variety of magnetic states and its potential for integration with memory and computing technologies.This study explores the generation and control of topological spin textures in the insulating van der Waals ferromagnet CrBr₃. The research demonstrates that the interplay between sample thickness, external magnetic fields, and optical excitations can produce a variety of spin textures, including stripe domains, skyrmion crystals, and magnetic domains, which coexist in CrBr₃. High-resolution magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and large-scale micromagnetic simulations reveal a large region in the T-B phase diagram where these textures can be intrinsically selected or transformed via a phase-switch mechanism. Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) shows mixed chirality of the magnetic textures, which can be manipulated into Néel-type or hybrid-type via thickness engineering. The topological phase transformation between different magnetic objects is further inspected using photoluminescence optical probes, indicating the presence of exciton-skyrmion coupling. The findings suggest that vdW magnetic insulators are promising materials for manipulating and generating highly ordered skyrmion lattices relevant for device integration at the atomic level. The study also shows that the size of stripe domains and skyrmion crystals is strongly correlated with the thickness of CrBr₃ films, with different regimes identified based on film thickness. The T-B phase diagram reveals the coexistence of skyrmions, stripe domains, and magnetic textures under various conditions. Photoluminescence measurements reveal exciton-skyrmion coupling, with the saturation field being higher in the presence of skyrmions. The study highlights the potential of CrBr₃ as a unique platform for hosting skyrmion crystals stabilized by the interplay between dipolar fields and exchange energy in an insulating environment. The weak interlayer vdW coupling allows characterization of magnetization textures across a broad range of film thicknesses, temperatures, and magnetic fields. The results suggest that CrBr₃ could be a promising material for future spintronic applications due to its ability to host a variety of magnetic states and its potential for integration with memory and computing technologies.
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[slides and audio] Topological Spin Textures in an Insulating van der Waals Ferromagnet