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Author(s): Han, HS; Lee, S; Je, SG; Kang, M; Ok, HJ; Kim, N; Chao, W; Im, MY; Lee, KS | Abstract: Stochasticity in magnetic nanodevices is an essential characteristic for harnessing these devices to computing based on population coding or the building blocks of probabilistic computing, p-bits. A magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) consisting of a patterned magnetic element is considered a promising computing unit in the concept of artificial neurons and p-bits. A comprehensive understanding of the stochasticity in the switching of patterned magnetic elements is crucial for realizing MTJ-based probabilistic computing technology. In the present work, the stochastic behavior in the switching process of a perpendicularly magnetized Co/Pt disk within an array was directly observed utilizing full-field soft X-ray microscopy. Within 50 repeated hysteretic cycles, the stochastic magnetization switching of individual Co/Pt disks within disk arrays is identified. We found that the stochasticity in the magnetization switching of disks considerably depends on the disk size. The stochasticity initially decreases as the disk radius gets bigger from 125 to 375 nm (region I), then increases with further enlarging the disk size to 625 nm (region II). The variance of thermal fluctuation relevant to the disk size and the multilevel switching within a disk are severely involved in the observed size-dependent stochasticity. This work provides the way for controlling the stochasticity in the switching of nanopatterned elements, which is a key aspect of MTJ-based probabilistic computing.

The efficient generation, manipulation and detection of magnetic skyrmions are important for the development of future spintronic devices. One approach is to use electric-current-induced spin torques. Recently, thermally induced skyrmion motion has also been observed, but wider experimental evidence and its capabilities remain limited. Here we report the thermal generation, manipulation and thermoelectric detection of nanoscale skyrmions in microstructured metallic multilayers integrated with on-chip heaters. The local application of heat can facilitate a domain morphological transition and the formation of skyrmions at the device edge, where a low energy barrier exists. We observe the unidirectional diffusion of skyrmions from hot regions to cold regions, which is due to the interplay among the repulsive forces between skyrmions, thermal spin–orbit torques, entropic forces and magnonic spin torques. The thermally generated skyrmions can also be electrically detected via the Nernst voltage. Nanoscale magnetic skyrmions that are generated in metallic multilayers using on-chip heating diffuse from hot to cold regions and can be thermoelectrically detected via the Nernst voltage.

Controllable writing and deleting of nanoscale magnetic skyrmions are key requirements for their use as information carriers for next-generation memory and computing technologies. While several schemes have been proposed, they require complex fabrication techniques or precisely tailored electrical inputs, which limits their long-term scalability. Here we demonstrate an alternative approach for writing and deleting skyrmions using conventional electrical pulses within a simple, two-terminal wire geometry. X-ray microscopy experiments and micromagnetic simulations establish the observed skyrmion creation and annihilation as arising from Joule heating and Oersted field effects of the current pulses, respectively. The unique characteristics of these writing and deleting schemes, such as spatial and temporal selectivity, together with the simplicity of the 2-terminal device architecture, provide a flexible and scalable route to the viable applications of skyrmions., Comment: Merged Manuscript & Supplementary Information

A moving magnetic skyrmion exhibits transverse deflection. This so-called skyrmion Hall effect has been explained by the Thiele equation. Here, we provide an alternative interpretation of the skyrmion Hall effect based on the dynamics of domain walls enclosing the skyrmion. We relate the spin-torque-induced local rotation of the domain wall segments to the shift of the skyrmion core, explaining the skyrmion Hall effect at the micromagnetic level. Based on our intuitive interpretation, we also show that the skyrmion Hall effect can be suppressed by combining the spin-transfer and spin–orbit torques, thereby removing the major obstacle to utilizing skyrmions in devices.

Author(s): Zhou, HA; Liu, J; Wang, Z; Zhang, Q; Xu, T; Dong, Y; Zhao, L; Je, SG; Im, MY; Xu, K; Zhu, J; Jiang, W | Abstract: Interfacially asymmetric magnetic multilayers made of heavy metal/ferromagnet have attracted considerable attention in the spintronics community for accommodating spin-orbit torques (SOTs) and meanwhile for hosting chiral spin textures. In these multilayers, the accompanied interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (iDMI) permits the formation of Neel-type spin textures. While significant progresses have been made in Co, CoFeB, Co2FeAl, CoFeGd based multilayers, it would be intriguing to identify new magnetic multilayers that could enable spin-torque controllability and meanwhile host nanoscale skyrmions. In this report, first, thin films made of permanent magnet SmCo5 with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy are synthesized, in which the deterministic SOT switching, enabled by the spin Hall effect, in Pt/SmCo5/Ta trilayer is demonstrated. Further, the stabilization of room-temperature skyrmions with diameters ≈100nnm in [Pt/SmCo5/Ta]15, together with a skyrmionium-like spin texture in [Pt/SmCo5/Ir]15 multilayers is shown. Based on the material specific parameters, micromagnetic simulations are also carried out. The results confirm the presence of chiral spin textures in this new material family. Through interfacial engineering, the results thus demonstrate that rare earth permanent magnets could be a new platform for studying interfacial chiral spintronics.

Magnetic domain wall (DW) motion in perpendicularly magnetized materials is drawing increased attention due to the prospect of new type of information storage devices, such as racetrack memory. To augment the functionalities of DW motion‐based devices, it is essential to improve controllability over the DW motion. Other than electric current, which is known to induce unidirectional shifting of a train of DWs, an application of in‐plane magnetic field also enables the control of DW dynamics by rotating the DW magnetization and consequently modulating the inherited chiral DW structure. Applying an external bias field, however, is not a viable approach for the miniaturization of the devices as the external field acts globally. Here, the programmable exchange‐coupled DW motion in the antiferromagnet (AFM)/ferromagnet (FM) system is demonstrated, where the role of an external in‐plane field is replaced by the exchange bias field from AFM layer, enabling the external field‐free modulations of DW motions. Interestingly, the direction of the exchange bias field can also be reconfigured by simply injecting spin currents through the device, enabling electrical and programmable operations of the device. Furthermore, the result inspires a prototype DW motion‐based device based on the AFM/FM heterostructure, that could be easily integrated in logic devices., The role of magnetic field in the ferromagnetic domain‐wall (DW) motions within a micropatterned magnetic layer can be efficiently overtaken by the effective field from adjacent exchange‐coupled antiferromagnet. Using the spin structure of antiferromagnet controllable with spin current, highly adjusted motion of exchange‐coupled DW is demonstrated showing a prospect of field‐free electrical operations of DW‐based spintronics devices.

Magnetic skyrmions are intriguing topological spin textures that promise future high-density spintronic devices. The creation of magnetic skyrmions has been understood based on the energetics of skyrmions, but the detailed dynamic process of the skyrmion creation remains unclear. Here topological evolution in conversion from uneven domains to Neel-skyrmions is investigated using micromagnetic simulations. We find that, rather than the overall topological charge, annihilation of novel topological defects, i.e., recently suggested domain wall skyrmions, dominantly govern the skyrmion creation process. Also, the topological charge evolution is interpreted in terms of the number and the combination of such topological defects.

Topological protection precludes a continuous deformation between topologically inequivalent configurations in a continuum. Motivated by this concept, magnetic skyrmions, topologically nontrivial spin textures, are expected to exhibit topological stability, thereby offering a prospect as a nanometer-scale nonvolatile information carrier. In real materials, however, atomic spins are configured as not continuous but discrete distributions, which raises a fundamental question if the topological stability is indeed preserved for real magnetic skyrmions. Answering this question necessitates a direct comparison between topologically nontrivial and trivial spin textures, but the direct comparison in one sample under the same magnetic fields has been challenging. Here we report how to selectively achieve either a skyrmion state or a topologically trivial bubble state in a single specimen and thereby experimentally show how robust the skyrmion structure is in comparison with the bubbles. We demonstrate that topologically nontrivial magnetic skyrmions show longer lifetimes than trivial bubble structures, evidencing the topological stability in a real discrete system. Our work corroborates the physical importance of the topology in the magnetic materials, which has hitherto been suggested by mathematical arguments, providing an important step toward ever-dense and more-stable magnetic devices.

The effect of electric current pulses on a sub-100 nm magnetic bubble state in a symmetric Pt/Co multilayer was directly observed using a full-field transmission soft X-ray microscope (MTXM). Field-induced evolution of the magnetic stripe domains into isolated bubbles with their sizes down to 100 nm was imaged under varying external magnetic fields. Electric current pulses were then applied to the created magnetic bubbles, and it was observed that the bubbles could be either created or annihilated by the current pulse depending on the strength of applied magnetic field. The results suggest that the Joule heating plays a critical role in the formation and/or elimination of the bubbles and skyrmions. Finally, the schematic phase diagram for the creation and annihilation of bubbles is presented, suggesting an optimized scheme with the combination of magnetic field and electric current necessary to utilize skyrmions in the practical devices.

Merons which are topologically equivalent to one-half of skyrmions can exist only in pairs or groups in two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetic (FM) systems. The recent discovery of meron lattice in chiral magnet Co8Zn9Mn3 raises the immediate challenging question that whether a single meron pair, which is the most fundamental topological structure in any 2D meron systems, can be created and stabilized in a continuous FM film? Utilizing winding number conservation, we develop a new method to create and stabilize a single pair of merons in a continuous Py film by local vortex imprinting from a Co disk. By observing the created meron pair directly within a magnetic field, we determine its topological structure unambiguously and explore the topological effect in its creation and annihilation processes. Our work opens a pathway towards developing and controlling topological structures in general magnetic systems without the restriction of perpendicular anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction., A meron is one half of a skyrmion but whether a single meron pair can be created and stabilized remains a challenging question. Here, Gao et al. develop a method to create and stabilize individual pairs of merons in a continuous Py film by local vortex imprinting from Co disks.

Magnetic skyrmions present interesting physics due to their topological nature and hold significant promise for future information technologies. A key barrier to realizing skyrmion devices has been stabilizing these spin structures under ambient conditions. In this manuscript, we exploit the tunable magnetic properties of amorphous Fe/Gd mulitlayers to realize skyrmion lattices which are stable over a large temperature and magnetic field parameter space, including room temperature and zero magnetic field. These hybrid skyrmions have both Bloch-type and N\'eel-type character and are stabilized by dipolar interactions rather than Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, which are typically considered required for the generation of skyrmions. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used in combination with soft X-ray microscopy to provide a unique, multi-scale probe of the local and long-range order of these structures. These results identify a pathway to engineer controllable skyrmion phases in thin film geometries which are stable at ambient conditions., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

New types of functional material structures will emerge if the shape and properties are controlled in three-dimensional nanodevices. Possible applications of these would be nanoelectronics and medical systems. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are especially important in electronics such as magnetic storage, sensors, and spintronics. Also, in those that are used as magnetic resonance imaging contrasts, and tissue specific therapeutic agents, as well as in the labeling and sorting of cells, drug delivery, separation of biochemical products, and in other medical applications. Most of these applications require MNPs to be chemically stable, uniform in size, and controllable in terms of their magnetic properties and shape. In this paper three new functions of iron (Fe)-based nanoparticles are reported: shape transformation, oxidation prevention, and self-alignment. The shape of the Fe nanoparticles could be controlled by changing their oxidation states and properties by using a nanocarbon coating. Full field X-ray microscopy using synchrotron radiation revealed controllable magnetic properties of MNPs at the L3 edge which depended on the oxidation states. Then, inkjet printing was successfully performed to deposit a uniform layer of MNPs by the size.

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 N\'eel-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 closed packed dipole skyrmion lattice. The magnetic textures exhibit motion under current excitations with a current density ~10^8 A/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., Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures

We report on the effect of the lateral confinement and a perpendicular magnetic field on isolated room-temperature magnetic skyrmions in sputtered Pt/Co/MgO nanotracks and nanodots. We show that the skyrmions size can be easily tuned by playing on the lateral dimensions of the nanostructures and by using external magnetic field amplitudes of a few mT, which allow to reach sub-100 nm diameters. Our XMCD-PEEM observations also highlight the important role of the pinning on the skyrmions size and stability under an out-of-plane magnetic field. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that the effect of local pinning can be well accounted for by considering the thin film grain structure with local anisotropy variations and reproduce well the dependence of the skyrmion diameter on the magnetic field and the geometry., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures

We investigate spin-orbit torque (SOT)-induced switching in rare-earth-transition metal ferrimagnetic alloys using W/CoTb bilayers. The switching current is found to vary continuously with the alloy concentration, and no reduction in the switching current is observed at the magnetic compensation point despite a very large SOT efficiency. A model based on coupled Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert (LLG) equations shows that the switching current density scales with the effective perpendicular anisotropy which does not exhibit strong reduction at the magnetic compensation, explaining the behavior of the switching current density. This model also suggests that conventional SOT effective field measurements do not allow one to conclude whether the spins are transferred to one sublattice or just simply to the net magnetization. The effective spin Hall angle measurement shows an enhancement of the spin Hall angle with the Tb concentration which suggests an additional SOT contribution from the rare earth Tb atoms.

International audience; Magnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial spin textures which hold great promise as stable information carriers in spintronic devices at the nanoscale. One of the major challenges for developing novel skyrmionbased memory and logic devices is fast and controlled creation of magnetic skyrmions at ambient conditions. Here we demonstrate controlled generation of skyrmion bubbles and skyrmion bubble lattices from a ferromagnetic state in sputtered ultrathin magnetic films at room temperature by a single ultrafast (35 fs) laser pulse. The skyrmion bubble density increases with the laser fluence, and it finally becomes saturated, forming disordered hexagonal lattices. Moreover, we present that the skyrmion bubble lattice configuration leads to enhanced topological stability as compared to isolated skyrmions, suggesting its promising use in data storage. Our findings shed light on the optical approach to the skyrmion bubble lattice in commonly accessible materials, paving the road toward the emerging skyrmion-based memory and synaptic devices.

We report a systematic study of current-induced perpendicular magnetization switching in W/Co$_{x}$Tb$_{1-x}$/Al thin films with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Various Co$_{x}$Tb$_{1-x}$ ferrimagnetic alloys with different magnetic compensation temperatures are presented. The systems are characterized using MOKE, SQUID and anomalous Hall resistance at different cryostat temperature ranging from 10 K to 350 K. The current-switching experiments are performed in the spin-orbit torque geometry where the current pulses are injected in plane and the magnetization reversal is detected by measuring the Hall resistance. The full reversal magnetization has been observed in all samples. Some experimental results could only be explained by the strong sample heating effect during the current pulses injection. We have found that, for a given composition $x$ and switching polarity, the devices always reach the same temperature $\textit{T}_{switch}(x)$ before switching independently of the cryostat temperature. $\textit{T}_{switch}$ seems to scale with the Curie temperature of the Co$_{x}$Tb$_{1-x}$ ferrimagnetic alloys. This explains the evolution of the critical current (and critical current density) as a function of the alloy concentration. Future application could take advantages of this heating effect which allows reducing the in-plane external field. Unexpected double magnetization switching has been observed when the heat generated by the current allows crosses the compensation temperature., 18 pages, 7 figures. Supplementary: 7 pages, 7 figures

Broken symmetries in diverse systems generate a number of intriguing phenomena and the analysis on such broken symmetries often provides decisive clues for exploring underlying physics in the systems. Recently, in magnetic thin-film systems, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI)---induced by the broken symmetry of structural inversion---accounts for various chiral phenomena, which are of timely issues in spintronics. Here, we report an experimental observation on unexpected tilting of magnetic domain walls (DWs) due to the broken symmetry under the application of the magnetic field transverse to the magnetic wire systems. It has been predicted that the DMI possibly causes such DW tilting in the direction of the energy minimization. However, very interestingly, experimental observation reveals that the DW tilting does not follow the prediction based on the energy minimization, even for the tilting direction. Instead, the DW tilting is governed by the DW speed asymmetry that is initiated by the DW pinning at wire edges. A simple analytic model is proposed in consideration of the DW speed asymmetry at wire edges, which successfully explains the experimental observation of the DW tilting directions and angles, as confirmed by numerical simulation. The present study manifests the decisive role of the DW pinning with the DW speed asymmetry, which determines the DW configuration and consequently, the dynamics.

A trilayer structure consisting of ferromagnetic alloy CoFeB/antiferromagnetic IrMn/heavy metal Pt layers was prepared, and the manipulation of its exchange bias effect was achieved without applying an external magnetic field. Spin polarized current, generated by the spin Hall effect of the electrical current through the Pt layer, was shown to be able to control the spin alignment state in the neighboring antiferromagnetic material as well as the corresponding exchange bias effect in the ferromagnet coupled to the antiferromagnet. The results demonstrated stable and reliable switching of the spin structure in antiferromagnets, providing a useful route to all-electrical manipulation of antiferromagnetic states without a need for the bulky global application of the external magnetic field. Therefore, with the results presented in the present work, precise control of magnetism including both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets on submicron to nanometer length scales can be expected.

The one-dimensional magnetic skyrmion motion induced by an electric current has attracted much interest because of its application potential in next-generation magnetic memory devices. Recently, the unidirectional motion of large (20 μm in diameter) magnetic bubbles with two-dimensional skyrmion topology, driven by an oscillating magnetic field, has also been demonstrated. For application in high-density memory devices, it is preferable to reduce the size of skyrmion. Here we show by numerical simulation that a skyrmion of a few tens of nanometres can also be driven by high-frequency field oscillations, but with a different direction of motion from the in-plane component of the tilted oscillating field. We found that a high-frequency field for small skyrmions can excite skyrmion resonant modes and that a combination of different modes results in a final skyrmion motion with a helical trajectory. Because this helical motion depends on the frequency of the field, we can control both the speed and the direction of the skyrmion motion, which is a distinguishable characteristic compared with other methods.

In chiral magnetic materials, numerous intriguing phenomena such as built-in chiral magnetic domain walls (DWs) and skyrmions are generated by the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI). The DMI also results in asymmetric DW speeds under an in-plane magnetic field, which provides a useful scheme to measure the strength of the DMI. However, recent findings of additional asymmetries such as chiral damping have inhibited the unambiguous determination of the DMI strength, and the underlying mechanism of overall asymmetries comes under debate. Here, we experimentally investigate the nature of the additional asymmetry by extracting the DMI-induced symmetric contribution from the DW speed. Our results reveal that the additional asymmetry has a truly antisymmetric nature with the typical behavior governed by the DW chirality. In addition, the antisymmetric contribution alters the DW speed by a factor of 100, dominating the overall variation in DW speed. Thus, experimental inaccuracies can be largely removed by calibration with such antisymmetric contributions, enabling the standard DMI measurement scheme. Fast-moving domain walls separating regions with spin-up or spin-down states are desirable for high-performance spintronic memory and logic devices. The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction gives rise to an asymmetric distribution of domain wall speeds in chiral magnetic materials, providing a convenient way to determine the strength of the interaction. However, the recent discovery of additional asymmetries has complicated the analysis of measurements. Now, Sug-Bong Choe from Seoul National University and co-workers have experimentally determined the chiral nature of the additional symmetry for the first time. This contribution, which could arise from either a form of energy dissipation called chiral damping or from natural variations in domain wall widths, can alter domain wall speeds by a factor of 100. Chiral magnetic domain-wall (DW) speed variation is investigated. We demonstrate that the symmetric contribution in the DW speed attributes to the chiral DW energy density. Next, by deducing this symmetric contribution, the additional asymmetry was extracted. The extracted additional asymmetry exhibits truly antisymmetric nature and is governed by DW chirality. Moreover, this antisymmetry (additional asymmetry) changes overall DW speed more than a factor of 100 to the extent of dominating the symmetric contribution. These findings not only provide the artifact-free Dyzaloshinskii–Moriya interaction measurement scheme, but also contribute to the investigation of the origin of the additional asymmetry.

Current-induced domain wall motion has drawn great attention in recent decades as the key operational principle of emerging magnetic memory devices. As the major driving force of the motion, the spin-orbit torque on chiral domain walls has been proposed and is currently extensively studied. However, we demonstrate here that there exists another driving force, which is larger than the spin-orbit torque in atomically thin Co films. Moreover, the direction of the present force is found to be the opposite of the prediction of the standard spin-transfer torque, resulting in the domain wall motion along the current direction. The symmetry of the force and its peculiar dependence on the domain wall structure suggest that the present force is, most likely, attributed to considerable enhancement of a negative nonadiabatic spin-transfer torque in ultranarrow domain walls. Careful measurements of the giant magnetoresistance manifest a negative spin polarization in the atomically thin Co films which might be responsible for the negative spin-transfer torque.

Unidirectional motion of magnetic domain walls is the key concept underlying next-generation domain-wall-mediated memory and logic devices. Such motion has been achieved either by injecting large electric currents into nanowires or by employing domain-wall tension induced by sophisticated structural modulation. Herein, we demonstrate a new scheme without any current injection or structural modulation. This scheme utilizes the recently discovered chiral domain walls, which exhibit asymmetry in their speed with respect to magnetic fields. Because of this asymmetry, an alternating magnetic field results in the coherent motion of the domain walls in one direction. Such coherent unidirectional motion is achieved even for an array of magnetic bubble domains, enabling the design of a new device prototype—magnetic bubblecade memory—with two-dimensional data-storage capability.

We report on the basis of experiments that magnetic domain structures exhibit a transition between single and dendrite domains with respect to the width of ferromagnetic nanowires. This transition is directly observed in CoFe/Pt multilayered nanowires having a width in the range of 580 nm to 4.2 µm with a magnetic force microscope. Nanowires wider than 1.5 µm show typical dendrite domain patterns, whereas the nanowires narrower than 690 nm exhibit single domain patterns. The transition occurs gradually between these widths, which are similar to the typical widths of the dendrite domains. Such a transition affects the strength of the domain wall propagation field; this finding was made by using a time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope, and shows that the domain wall dynamics also exhibit a transition in accordance with the domain configuration.

Unidirectional motion of magnetic domain walls is the key concept underlying next-generation domain-wall-mediated memory and logic devices. Such motion has been achieved either by injecting large electric currents into nanowires or by employing domain-wall tension induced by sophisticated structural modulation. Herein, we demonstrate a new scheme without any current injection or structural modulation. This scheme utilizes the recently discovered chiral domain walls, which exhibit asymmetry in their speed with respect to magnetic fields. Because of this asymmetry, an alternating magnetic field results in the coherent motion of the domain walls in one direction. Such coherent unidirectional motion is achieved even for an array of magnetic bubble domains, enabling the design of a new device prototype-magnetic bubblecade memory-with two-dimensional data-storage capability., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, ver.2: 2 supplementary movies

We demonstrate here that ultrathin ferromagnetic Pt/Co/Pt films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exhibit a sizeable Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) effect. Such a DMI effect modifies the domain-wall (DW) energy density and consequently, results in an asymmetric DW expansion driven by an out-of-plane magnetic field under an in-plane magnetic field bias. From an analysis of the asymmetry, the DMI effect is estimated to be strong enough for the DW to remain in the N\'eel-type configuration in contrast to the general expectations of these materials. Our findings emphasize the critical role of the DMI effect on the DW dynamics as the underlying physics of the asymmetries that are often observed in spin-transfer-related phenomena., Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures

We report an experimental observation on universality of stochasticity in magnetic domain-wall motion along ferromagnetic nanowires. The domain-wall arrival time exhibits stochasticity depending on the nanowire width and strength of external magnetic field. Strikingly, all of the measured stochasticity data collapse onto a single universal curve that is given by a function of the number of de-pinning events. Such stochasticity has been found to be saturated for nanowires thinner than about 200 nm, which is possibly attributed to the dimensionality transition from two to one dimension. These results provide essential information for operating and/or design of domain-wall mediated devices.

We report an experimental observation that indicates that a direct relation exists between the speed of the magnetic domain-wall (DW) motion and the magnitude of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in Pt/Co/Pt films. It is found that by changing the thicknesses of the nonmagnetic Pt layers, the PMA magnitude can be varied significantly and the field-driven DW speed can also be modified by a factor of up to 50 under the same magnetic field. Interestingly, the DW speed exhibits a clear scaling behavior with respect to the PMA magnitude. A theory based on the DW creep criticality successfully explains the observed scaling exponent between the DW speed and the PMA magnitude. The presented results offer a method of maximizing the DW speed in DW-mediated nanodevices without altering the thickness of the magnetic Co layer.

We observe a transition of domain-wall (DW) dynamics in ferromagnetic wires made of Co/Ni multilayers by use of transport measurement. As the wire width reduces, DW dynamics exhibits a transition from dendrite growth to pure DW motion. The threshold width is found to be about 300 nm and strongly depends on the relative dragging direction of the magnetic field and the current on DW: parallel (antiparallel) direction results in much smaller (larger) threshold width. It should be considered as a building block for DW-motion-based device applications.

We report an experimental detection of a long-range tension effect on magnetic domain walls in Pt/Co/Pt films. Such a tension effect is observed from circular domains expanding (or shrinking) under a constant applied magnetic field. Interestingly, the domain propagation speed varies with respect to the domain radius. Converting the speed variation to a magnetic field via the creep scaling, it is revealed that there exists an effective field inversely proportional to the radius, in accordance with the domain wall tension and the magnetostatic dipolar interaction. The sizeable tension effect subsists over 20 µm, providing a way to directly determine the wall energy density.

Magnetic skyrmions are chiral spin textures that hold great promise as nanoscale information carriers. Since their first observation at room temperature, progress has been made in their current-induced manipulation, with fast motion reported in stray-field-coupled multilayers. However, the complex spin textures with hybrid chiralities and large power dissipation in these multilayers limit their practical implementation and the fundamental understanding of their dynamics. Here, we report on the current-driven motion of N\'eel skyrmions with diameters in the 100-nm range in an ultrathin Pt/Co/MgO trilayer. We find that these skyrmions can be driven at a speed of 100 m/s and exhibit a drive-dependent skyrmion Hall effect, which is accounted for by the effect of pinning. Our experiments are well substantiated by an analytical model of the skyrmion dynamics as well as by micromagnetic simulations including material inhomogeneities. This good agreement is enabled by the simple skyrmion spin structure in our system and a thorough characterization of its static and dynamical properties., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures + Supplementary Information (12 pages, 9 figures)