Abstract
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected quasiparticles that are promising for applications in spintronics. However, the low stability of most magnetic skyrmions leads to either a narrow temperature range in which they can exist, a low density of skyrmions, or the need for an external magnetic field, which greatly limits their wide application. In this study, high-density, spontaneous magnetic biskyrmions existing within a wide temperature range and without the need for a magnetic field were formed in ferrimagnets owing to the existence of a negative thermal expansion of the lattice. Moreover, a strong connection between the atomic-scale ferrimagnetic structure and nanoscale magnetic domains in Ho(Co,Fe)3 was revealed via in situ neutron powder diffraction and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy measurements. The critical role of the negative thermal expansion in generating biskyrmions in HoCo3 based on the magnetoelastic coupling effect is further demonstrated by comparing the behavior of HoCo2.8Fe0.2 with a positive thermal expansion.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | eadi1984 |
| Journal | Science Advances |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 36 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We thank Dr. C. Wang for collecting neutron powder diffraction data at the high-intensity diffractometer Wombat of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFE0109100), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21825102, 22275014, 12104038, 52271195, and 52130103), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (06500201), and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST.