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Birch MT, Cortés-Ortuño D, Turnbull LA, Wilson MN, Groß F, Träger N, Laurenson A, Bukin N, Moody SH, Weigand M, Schütz G, Popescu H, Fan R, Steadman P, Verezhak JAT, Balakrishnan G, Loudon JC, Twitchett-Harrison AC, Hovorka O, Fangohr H, Ogrin FY, Gräfe J, Hatton PD. Real-space imaging of confined magnetic skyrmion tubes. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1726. [PMID: 32265449 PMCID: PMC7138844 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15474-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial particles with a potential application as information elements in future spintronic device architectures. While they are commonly portrayed as two dimensional objects, in reality magnetic skyrmions are thought to exist as elongated, tube-like objects extending through the thickness of the host material. The study of this skyrmion tube state (SkT) is vital for furthering the understanding of skyrmion formation and dynamics for future applications. However, direct experimental imaging of skyrmion tubes has yet to be reported. Here, we demonstrate the real-space observation of skyrmion tubes in a lamella of FeGe using resonant magnetic x-ray imaging and comparative micromagnetic simulations, confirming their extended structure. The formation of these structures at the edge of the sample highlights the importance of confinement and edge effects in the stabilisation of the SkT state, opening the door to further investigation into this unexplored dimension of the skyrmion spin texture.
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Affiliation(s)
- M T Birch
- Centre for Materials Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
- Diamond Light Source, Didcot, OX11 0DE, UK
| | - D Cortés-Ortuño
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - L A Turnbull
- Centre for Materials Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - M N Wilson
- Centre for Materials Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - F Groß
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - N Träger
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - A Laurenson
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
| | - N Bukin
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
| | - S H Moody
- Centre for Materials Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - M Weigand
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Institut Nanospektroskopie, Kekuléstrasse 5, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - G Schütz
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - H Popescu
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint Aubin, BP 48, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - R Fan
- Diamond Light Source, Didcot, OX11 0DE, UK
| | - P Steadman
- Diamond Light Source, Didcot, OX11 0DE, UK
| | - J A T Verezhak
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - G Balakrishnan
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - J C Loudon
- Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FS, UK
| | - A C Twitchett-Harrison
- Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FS, UK
| | - O Hovorka
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - H Fangohr
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
- European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869, Schenefeld, Germany
| | - F Y Ogrin
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
| | - J Gräfe
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - P D Hatton
- Centre for Materials Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
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