arXiv subjects

Nicolas Reyren

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolas Reyren.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Chiral spin spiral in synthetic antiferromagnets probed by circular dichroism in x-ray resonant magnetic scattering

Noncollinear chiral spin textures in ferromagnetic multilayers are at the forefront of recent research in nano-magnetism with the promise for fast and energy-efficient devices. The recently demonstrated possibilities to stabilize such chiral structures in synthetic antiferromagnets (SAF) has raised interests as they are immune to dipolar field, hence favoring the stabilization of ultra small textures, improve mobility and avoid the transverse deflections of moving skyrmions limiting the efficiency in some foreseen applications. However, such systems with zero net magnetization are hence difficult to characterize by most of the standard techniques. Here, we report that the relevant parameters of a magnetic SAF texture, those being its period, its type (Néel or Bloch) and its chirality (clockwise or counterclockwise), can be directly determined using the circular dichroism in x-ray resonant scattering (CD-XRMS) at half integer multilayer Bragg peaks in reciprocal space. The analysis of the dependence in temperature down to 40K allows us moreover to address the question of the temperature stability of a spin spiral in a SAF sample and of the temperature scaling of the symmetric and antisymmetric exchange interactions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Ultrafast time-evolution of chiral Néel magnetic domain walls probed by circular dichroism in x-ray resonant magnetic scattering

Non-collinear spin textures in ferromagnetic ultrathin films are attracting a renewed interest fueled by possible fine engineering of several magnetic interactions, notably the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. This allows the stabilization of complex chiral spin textures such as chiral magnetic domain walls (DWs), spin spirals, and magnetic skyrmions. We report here on the ultrafast behavior of chiral DWs after optical pumping in perpendicularly magnetized asymmetric multilayers, probed using time-resolved circular dichroism in x-ray resonant magnetic scattering (CD-XRMS). We observe a picosecond transient reduction of the CD-XRMS, which is attributed to the spin current-induced coherent and incoherent torques within the continuously dependent spin texture of the DWs. We argue that a specific demagnetization of the inner structure of the DW induces a flow of hot spins from the interior of the neighboring magnetic domains. We identify this time-varying change of the DW textures shortly after the laser pulse as a distortion of the homochiral N'eel shape toward a transient mixed Bloch-Néel-Bloch textures along a direction transverse to the DW. Our study highlights how time-resolved CD-XRMS can be a unique tool for studying the time evolution in other systems showing a non-collinear electric/magnetic ordering such as skyrmion lattices, conical/helical phases, as well as the recently observed antiskyrmion lattices, in metallic or insulating materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Tunable stochasticity in an artificial spin network

Metamaterials present the possibility of artificially generating advanced functionalities through engineering of their internal structure. Artificial spin networks, in which a large number of nanoscale magnetic elements are coupled together, are promising metamaterial candidates that enable the control of collective magnetic behavior through tuning of the local interaction between elements. In this work, the motion of magnetic domain-walls in an artificial spin network leads to a tunable stochastic response of the metamaterial, which can be tailored through an external magnetic field and local lattice modifications. This type of tunable stochastic network produces a controllable random response exploiting intrinsic stochasticity within magnetic domain-wall motion at the nanoscale. An iconic demonstration used to illustrate the control of randomness is the Galton board. In this system, multiple balls fall into an array of pegs to generate a bell-shaped curve that can be modified via the array spacing or the tilt of the board. A nanoscale recreation of this experiment using an artificial spin network is employed to demonstrate tunable stochasticity. This type of tunable stochastic network opens new paths towards post-Von Neumann computing architectures such as Bayesian sensing or random neural networks, in which stochasticity is harnessed to efficiently perform complex computational tasks.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Imaging non-collinear antiferromagnetic textures via single spin relaxometry

Antiferromagnetic materials are promising platforms for next-generation spintronics owing to their fast dynamics and high robustness against parasitic magnetic fields. However, nanoscale imaging of the magnetic order in such materials with zero net magnetization remains a major experimental challenge. Here we show that non-collinear antiferromagnetic spin textures can be imaged by probing the magnetic noise they locally produce via thermal populations of magnons. To this end, we perform nanoscale, all-optical relaxometry with a scanning quantum sensor based on a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond. Magnetic noise is detected through an increase of the spin relaxation rate of the NV defect, which results in an overall reduction of its photoluminescence signal under continuous laser illumination. As a proof-of-concept, the efficiency of the method is demonstrated by imaging various spin textures in synthetic antiferromagnets, including domain walls, spin spirals and antiferromagnetic skyrmions. This imaging procedure could be extended to a large class of intrinsic antiferromagnets and opens up new opportunities for studying the physics of localized spin wave modes for magnonics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Thermoelectric signature of individual skyrmions

We experimentally study the thermoelectrical signature of individual skyrmions in chiral Pt/Co/Ru multilayers. Using a combination of controlled nucleation, single skyrmion annihilation, and magnetic field dependent measurements the thermoelectric signature of individual skyrmions is characterized. The observed signature is explained by the anomalous Nernst effect of the skyrmions spin structure. Possible topological contributions to the observed thermoelectrical signature are discussed. Such thermoelectrical characterization allows for non-invasive detection and counting of skyrmions and enables fundamental studies of topological thermoelectric effects on the nano scale

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at disordered interfaces from ab initio theory: robustness against intermixing and tunability through dusting

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), which is essential for the stabilization of topologically non-trivial chiral magnetic textures such as skyrmions, is particularly strong in heterostructures of ultra-thin magnetic materials and heavy elements. We explore by density-functional theory calculations the possibility to modify the magnetic properties at Co/Pt interfaces with chemical disorder. In these systems, we find a particular robustness of the DMI against intermixing. Upon dusting the interface with a third element (all $4d$ transition metals and B, Cu, Au and Bi), a strong reduction of the DMI is predicted. This opens up possibilities to tune the DMI through the degrees of intermixing and dusting.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

ARPES and transport studies of the elemental topological insulator $α$-Sn

Gray tin, also known as $α$-Sn, can be turned into a three-dimensional topological insulator (3D-TI) by strain and finite size effects. Such room temperature 3D-TI is peculiarly interesting for spintronics due to the spin-momentum locking along the Dirac cone (linear dispersion) of the surface states. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has been used to investigate the dispersion close to the Fermi level in thin (0\,0\,1)-oriented epitaxially strained films of $α$-Sn, for different film thicknesses as well as for different capping layers (Al, AlO$_x$ and MgO). Indeed a proper capping layer is necessary to be able to use $α$-Sn surface states for spintronics applications. In contrast with free surfaces or surfaces coated with Ag, coating the $α$-Sn surface with Al or AlO$_x$ leads to a drop of the Fermi level below the Dirac point, an important consequence for transport is the presence of bulk states at the Fermi level. $α$-Sn films coated by AlO$_x$ are studied by electrical magnetotransport: despite clear evidence of surface states revealed by Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, an important part of the magneto-transport properties is governed by "bulk" electronic states attributed to the $Γ8$ band, as suggested by {\it ab-initio} calculations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Modeling the shape of axisymmetric skyrmions in magnetic multilayers

We present a comprehensive micromagnetic model of isolated axisymmetric skyrmions in magnetic multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy. Most notably, the essential role of the internal dipolar field is extensively considered with a minimum amount of assumptions on the magnetization profiles. The tri-dimensional structure of the multilayered skyrmions is modeled by their radial profiles in each layer. We first compare the results of the model against a full micromagnetic description in Cartesian coordinates. Our model combines information on both layer-dependent size and chirality of the skyrmions. We also provide a convenient criterion in order to characterize the stability of skyrmions against anisotropic elongations that would break their cylindrical symmetry, which allows to confirm the stability of the determined solutions. Because this model is able to treat magnetization configurations twisted through the thickness of multilayered skyrmions, it can provide predictions on any potential hybrid chirality in skyrmions due to the interplay of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and dipolar interactions in multilayers. We finally apply the results of our model to the description of the current-driven dynamics of hybrid chiral skyrmions. Using the Thiele formalism, we show that we can predict the forces exerted on the multilayered skyrmions by vertical spin-polarized currents, which provides a method to conform hybrid skyrmion chiralities and spin-current injection geometries in order to optimize skyrmion motion in multilayers, to the aim of maximizing the current-induced velocity, or canceling the skyrmion Hall angle.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Hybrid chiral domain walls and skyrmions in magnetic multilayers

Noncollinear spin textures in ferromagnetic ultrathin films are currently the subject of renewed interest since the discovery of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). This antisymmetric exchange interaction selects a given chirality for the spin textures and allows stabilising configurations with nontrivial topology. Moreover, it has many crucial consequences on the dynamical properties of these topological structures, including chiral domain walls (DWs) and magnetic skyrmions. In the recent years the study of noncollinear spin textures has been extended from single ultrathin layers to magnetic multilayers with broken inversion symmetry. This extension of the structures in the vertical dimension allows very efficient current-induced motion and room-temperature stability for both Néel DWs and skyrmions. Here we show how in such multilayered systems the interlayer interactions can actually lead to more complex, hybrid chiral magnetisation arrangements. The described thickness-dependent reorientation of DWs is experimentally confirmed by studying demagnetised multilayers through circular dichroism in x-ray resonant magnetic scattering. We also demonstrate a simple yet reliable method for determining the magnitude of the DMI from static domains measurements even in the presence of these hybrid chiral structures, by taking into account the actual profile of the DWs. The advent of these novel hybrid chiral textures has far-reaching implications on how to stabilise and manipulate DWs as well as skymionic structures in magnetic multilayers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Advances in the Physics of Magnetic Skyrmions and Perspective for Technology

Magnetic skyrmions are small swirling topological defects in the magnetization texture stabilized by the protection due to their topology. In most cases they are induced by chiral interactions between atomic spins existing in non-centrosymmetric magnetic compounds or in thin films in which inversion symmetry is broken by the presence of an interface. The skyrmions can be extremely small with diameters in the nanometer range and, importantly, they behave as particles that can be moved, created or annihilated, making them suitable for abacus-type applications in information storage, logic or neuro-inspired technologies. Up to the last years skyrmions were observed only at low temperature (and in most cases under large applied fields) but important efforts of research has been recently devoted to find thin film and multilayered structures in which skyrmions are stabilized above room temperature and manipulated by current. This article focuses on these recent advances on the route to devices prototypes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Electrical signature of individual magnetic skyrmions in multilayered systems

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected whirling spin textures that can be stabilized in magnetic materials in which a chiral interaction is present. Their limited size together with their robustness against the external perturbations promote them as the ultimate magnetic storage bit in a novel generation of memory and logic devices. Despite many examples of the signature of magnetic skyrmions in the electrical signal, only low temperature measurements, mainly in magnetic materials with B20 crystal structure, have demonstrated the skyrmions contribution to the electrical transport properties. Using the combination of Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) and Hall resistivity measurements, we demonstrate the electrical detection of sub-100 nm skyrmions in multilayered thin film at room temperature (RT). We furthermore analyse the room temperature Hall signal of a single skyrmion which contribution is mainly dominated by anomalous Hall effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Room-temperature current-induced generation and motion of sub-100nm skyrmions

Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale windings of the spin configuration that hold great promise for technology due to their topology-related properties and extremely reduced sizes. After the recent observation at room temperature of sub-100 nm skyrmions stabilized by interfacial chiral interaction in magnetic multilayers, several pending questions remain to be solved, notably about the means to nucleate individual compact skyrmions or the exact nature of their motion. In this study, a method leading to the formation of magnetic skyrmions in a micrometer-sized nanotrack using homogeneous current injection is evidenced. Spin-transfer-induced motion of these small electricalcurrent-generated skyrmions is then demonstrated and the role of the out-of-plane magnetic field in the stabilization of the moving skyrmions is also analysed. The results of these experimental observations of spin torque induced motion are compared to micromagnetic simulations reproducing a granular type, non-uniform magnetic multilayer, in order to address the particularly important role of the magnetic inhomogeneities on the current-induced motion of sub-100 nm skyrmions, for which the material grains size is comparable to the skyrmion diameter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Emergent Phenomena Induced by Spin-Orbit Coupling at Surfaces and Interfaces

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) describes the relativistic interaction between the spin and momentum degrees of freedom of electrons, and is central to the rich phenomena observed in condensed matter systems. In recent years, new phases of matter have emerged from the interplay between SOC and low dimensionality, such as chiral spin textures and spin-polarized surface and interface states. These low-dimensional SOC-based realizations are typically robust and can be exploited at room temperature. Here we discuss SOC as a means of producing such fundamentally new physical phenomena in thin films and heterostructures. We put into context the technological promise of these material classes for developing spin-based device applications at room temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Skyrmions at room temperature : From magnetic thin films to magnetic multilayers

Facing the ever-growing demand for data storage will most probably require a new paradigm. Magnetic skyrmions are anticipated to solve this issue as they are arguably the smallest spin textures in magnetic thin films in nature. We designed cobalt-based multilayered thin films where the cobalt layer is sandwiched between two heavy metals providing additive interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, which reach about 2 mJ/m2 in the case of the Ir/Co/Pt multilayers. Using a magnetization-sensitive scanning x-ray transmission microscopy technique, we imaged magnetic bubble-like domains in these multilayers. The study of their behavir in magnetic field allows us to conclude that they are actually magnetic skyrmions stabilized by the Dzyaloshinsskii-Moriya interaction. This discoevry of stable skyrmions at room temperature in a technologically relevant material opens the way for device applications in a near future.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗