This brings skyrmions a step closer to use in real-world data storage as well as other novel magnetic and electronic technologies, ie the basis for a new type of computer memory that never loses its grip on the data it stores. Until just recently, magnetic skyrmions had only been seen at very low temperatures and under powerful magnetic fields.
The magnetic force in each individual atom in a magnet ie “magnetic moments” all line up the same way. But under extreme conditions, certain magnetic materials (such as MnSi or FeCoSi) can, instead, develop spots where the moments curve and twist, forming a winding, ring-like configuration. These unusual objects possess an elasticity that protects them from outside influence, meaning the data they store would not be corrupted easily, even by stray magnetic fields or physical defects within the material. As a result, magnetic skyrmions present a promising basis for information memory systems and other nanoelectronic devices.
Until recently, scientists glimpsed magnetic skyrmions only at low temperatures. NIST’s Gilbert and Liu not only designed an approach to make the quantum objects, but also their creations remained stable at room temperature, with no magnetic field. Creating them involves placing arrays of tiny magnetized cobalt disks atop a thin film made of cobalt and palladium; the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) had just developed a state-of-art polarized neutron reflectometer that was well suited to study their lab results. Working with NCNR scientists, the team used neutrons to see through the disk to spot the skyrmions underneath. The team also captured images of the whirling configurations in the disk array.
“The idea that has been discussed is that, for example, you could just push these stable magnetic bundles in single file down a line and read their data. The advantage here is that you’d need way less power to push them around than any other method proposed for spintronics,” says Gilbert, NCNR. “What we need to do next is figure out how to make them move around. But for now, we can start exploring how we might use skyrmions in technology-the playground is open.” http://www.nist.gov/ncnr/20151008skyrmions.cfm
A magnetized cobalt disk (red) placed atop a thin cobalt-palladium film (light purple background) can be made to confer its own ringed configuration of magnetic moments (orange arrows) to the film below, creating a skyrmion in the film (purple arrows). The skyrmion, which is stable at room temperature, might be usable in computer memory systems. Credit: Dustin Gilbert / NIST
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