Effective Manipulation of Skyrmions via Strain Gradient
Abstract
ABSTRACT Skyrmion‐based devices hold considerable potential for memory, logic, and sensing applications, where precise control over skyrmion density and size is essential. While strain engineering offers an energy‐efficient route to tune these properties, excessive strain can induce plastic deformation in magnetic films or lead to cracking, compromising the reliability of strain‐mediated skyrmion control. Here, we demonstrate strain gradients as an effective additional control parameter in magnetic multilayers. By introducing microscale periodic wrinkled structures in sputtered Pt/Co/Ta multilayers, strain gradients with varying magnitudes and directions are generated. Magnetic force microscopy reveals that both skyrmion density and size vary synchronously with the in‐plane strain gradient, enabling broader tunability than uniform strain approaches. Micromagnetic simulations confirm that these effects arise from strain and strain gradient modulation of the Dzyaloshinskii‐Moriya interaction and magnetic anisotropy. Moreover, this control strategy is reversible, cyclable, and transferable across different magnetic multilayers, providing a practical avenue for precise skyrmion engineering. This approach offers significant promise for advancing flexible spintronics, skyrmion‐based memory, and neuromorphic computing architectures.
Article Details
Authors (19)
Ruoan Zou
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Applications Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo P. R. China
Sheng Qiu
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University 1 , Nanjing 210093,
Huali Yang
Jin Tang
Department of Chemistry, University of California
Ri He
Yali Xie
Zengxing Lu
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Applications Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo P. R. China
Bin Lao
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Applications, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences 1 , Ningbo 315201,
Xilai Bao
Dan Zhao
Huatao Jiang
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Applications Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo P. R. China
Hong Xu
Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology
Mengting Zou
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Applications Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo P. R. China
Jiafeng Wu
Guofu Xu
Mingliang Tian
Guozhi Chai
Haifeng Du
Run‐Wei Li
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Applications Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo P. R. China