Spin-orbit torque induced dipole skyrmion motion at room temperature

Abstract

We demonstrate deterministic control of dipole-field-stabilized skyrmions by means of spin-orbit torques arising from heavy transition-metal seed layers. Experiments are performed on amorphous Fe/Gd multilayers that are patterned into wires and exhibit stripe domains and dipole skyrmions at room temperature. We show that while the domain walls and skyrmions are achiral on average due to lack of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, the Néel-like closure domain walls at each surface are chiral and can couple to spin-orbit torques. The current-induced domain evolutions are reported for different magnetic phases, including disordered stripe domains, coexisting stripes and dipole skyrmions, and a close-packed dipole skyrmion lattice. The magnetic textures exhibit motion under current excitations with a current density ∼108A/m2. By comparing the motion resulting from magnetic spin textures in Fe/Gd films with different heavy transition-metal interfaces, we confirm spin currents can be used to manipulate achiral dipole skyrmions via spin-orbit torques. We further show the current-induced response of a dipole skyrmion lattice where skyrmions move in channels between pinned regions. © 2018 American Physical Society. us.