Skyrmion generation and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy modification in Heusler alloy ultrathin films

<p><b>This thesis explores the magnetic properties of Heusler alloy thin films for spintronics applications. The skyrmion generation under different externalstimulation was focused in MgO/Mn2CoAl/Pd ultrathin films and the anomalous Hall effect of Co2MnGa thin films.</b></p> <p>The perpendicularly magnetized MgO/Mn2CoAl/Pd ultrathin films were firstly optimised by changing the thickness of Pd layer so that the effective magnetic anisotropy can be tuned and various magnetic textures can be obtained for different purposes. Based on the understanding of Pd dependence of magnetic properties, The skyrmion generation by applying an in-plane magnetic field was investigated to fine tune the effective magnetic anisotropy. Further the fractal analysis was used to describe the evolution of the magnetic states and categorise the formation of skyrmions. </p> <p>Then skyrmion generation by ionic liquid gating has been investigated in this trilayer. Both non-volatile and volatile skyrmions can be generated by applying a range of voltage sequences. The potential mechanisms, magneto-ionic and electrostatic charge effects, have been discussed as well.</p> <p>Finally, the thickness dependence of Co2MnGa thin films was studied. This material can be used as a spin-orbit generator for manipulating skyrmions. A large anomalous Hall angle (AHA) was demonstrated in Co2MnGa thin films (20 - 50 nm) showing a AHA ~11.4% at low temperature and ~9.7% at room temperature, which can be ascribed to the nontrivial topology of the band structure with large intrinsic Berry curvature. However, the anomalous Hall angle decreases significantly with thicknesses below 20 nm, which band structure calculations confirm is due to the reduction of the majority spin contribution to the Berry curvature.</p>

Skyrmion generation and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy modification in Heusler alloy ultrathin films

<p><b>This thesis explores the magnetic properties of Heusler alloy thin films for spintronics applications. The skyrmion generation under different externalstimulation was focused in MgO/Mn2CoAl/Pd ultrathin films and the anomalous Hall effect of Co2MnGa thin films.</b></p> <p>The perpendicularly magnetized MgO/Mn2CoAl/Pd ultrathin films were firstly optimised by changing the thickness of Pd layer so that the effective magnetic anisotropy can be tuned and various magnetic textures can be obtained for different purposes. Based on the understanding of Pd dependence of magnetic properties, The skyrmion generation by applying an in-plane magnetic field was investigated to fine tune the effective magnetic anisotropy. Further the fractal analysis was used to describe the evolution of the magnetic states and categorise the formation of skyrmions. </p> <p>Then skyrmion generation by ionic liquid gating has been investigated in this trilayer. Both non-volatile and volatile skyrmions can be generated by applying a range of voltage sequences. The potential mechanisms, magneto-ionic and electrostatic charge effects, have been discussed as well.</p> <p>Finally, the thickness dependence of Co2MnGa thin films was studied. This material can be used as a spin-orbit generator for manipulating skyrmions. A large anomalous Hall angle (AHA) was demonstrated in Co2MnGa thin films (20 - 50 nm) showing a AHA ~11.4% at low temperature and ~9.7% at room temperature, which can be ascribed to the nontrivial topology of the band structure with large intrinsic Berry curvature. However, the anomalous Hall angle decreases significantly with thicknesses below 20 nm, which band structure calculations confirm is due to the reduction of the majority spin contribution to the Berry curvature.</p>

Deriving the skyrmion Hall angle from skyrmion lattice dynamics

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically non-trivial, swirling magnetization textures that form lattices in helimagnetic materials. These magnetic nanoparticles show promise as high efficiency next-generation information carriers, with dynamics that are governed by their topology. Among the many unusual properties of skyrmions is the tendency of their direction of motion to deviate from that of a driving force; the angle by which they diverge is a materials constant, known as the skyrmion Hall angle. In magnetic multilayer systems, where skyrmions often appear individually, not arranging themselves in a lattice, this deflection angle can be easily measured by tracing the real space motion of individual skyrmions. Here we describe a reciprocal space technique which can be used to determine the skyrmion Hall angle in the skyrmion lattice state, leveraging the properties of the skyrmion lattice under a shear drive. We demonstrate this procedure to yield a quantitative measurement of the skyrmion Hall angle in the room-temperature skyrmion system FeGe, shearing the skyrmion lattice with the magnetic field gradient generated by a single turn Oersted wire.