SKYHIGH · Skyrmion devices and their high frequency dynamics
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2014-04-01 → 2016-03-31
- EU contribution
- €221,606
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MC-IIF
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Results in brief
Skyrmion devices and their high frequency dynamics
The SKYHIGH project investigated the high frequency properties of nanoscale magnetic materials, with a particular focus on those that possess a chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction by virtue of their structural inversion asymmetry. The mechanism was to provide a fellowship for Dr Satoshi Sugimoto, a PhD graduate of the University of Tokyo, to carry out research and training for a period of two years at the University of Leeds in the UK. Dr Sugimoto is an acknowledged expert on high frequency experimental methods for the study of magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures. Accomplishments of the project include: the development of a high-frequency measurement system at Leeds capable of electrically detecting magnetization dynamics electrically through rectification effects; providing transfer of knowledge into the EU by training doctoral and postdoctoral researcher in Leeds in its use, giving talks and seminars both at Leeds and externally, offering research projects and supervision to undergraduates in Leeds, attending and presenting results at conferences, and visiting other laboratories to perform joint experiments; and developing the spin-wave Doppler measurement technique to measure the spin polarization of multilayers, yielding new understanding of the effects of interfaces. Other work carried out during the project will be carried on to yield further results on the electrical transport properties of chiral germanide thin films. The results achieved will have impact in the ITC hardware sector, where magnetic materials are used to store data. High-performance magnetic memories will require fast response times in the materials from which they are constructed in order to be able to operate at sufficiently high speed.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Skyrmions are particle-like solutions of nonlinear equations that are now found in many physical contexts, such as Bose-Einstein condensates, the quantum Hall effect, and liquid crystals. Chrial magnetic skyrmions have recently been discovered, manifesting themselves as whirling spin structures including all possible spin directions. These novel spin textures are now being studied in earnest due to their prospects for applications in data storage.Most current mass storage devices are hard disks, but further improvements are challenging due to the fragility of their mechanical parts. Therefore, comparably high density solid-state devices are required to improve mass storage performance reliability and reduce energy consumption. Skyrmions are excellent candidates for a breakthrough in this problem, since they can be moved using spin-polarised currents with exceptional ease. Experimental studies of magnetic skyrmions are at a very early stage, however: most work has been done on bulk crystals, with very little on technologically-compatible thin films and nothing on nanoscale devices.The host group has recently demonstrated the stabilization of skyrmion textures in epilayers of FeCoSi and FeGe. This permits the fabrication of skyrmion-based spintronic devices. Their expertise in high frequency measurements of the spin dynamics of nanostructures is lacking, however. The experience that the fellow can bring from his background in a world-leading group in making and interpreting such measurements in conventional magnetic vortex-bearing nanostructures is essential to realize the technological potential of skyrmions in spintronics. Establishing methods for the high frequency excitation of skyrmion motion and its subsequent detection method will lead to improvements in spin-transfer efficiency by material engineering, analysis of transport mechanisms, and scaling into the nanometer regime, ultimately allowing electrical manipulation and detection of single skyrmions.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS · LeedsCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union