The
layering of crystals into a superlattice yields a nanoscale magnetic structure
of twisting, swirling spin orientations, shown from red to blue, that deflect
electrons, shown as white dots. Courtesy: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Scientists
discovered a strategy for layering dissimilar crystals with atomic precision to
control the size of resulting magnetic quasi-particles called skyrmions. This
approach could advance high-density data storage and quantum magnets for
quantum information science.
In typical
ferromagnets, magnetic spins align up or down. Yet in skyrmions, they twist and
swirl, forming unique shapes like petite porcupines or tiny tornadoes.
The tiny
intertwined magnetic structures could innovate high-density data storage, for
which size does matter and must be small. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led
project produced skyrmions as small as 10 nanometers – 10,000 times thinner
than a human hair.
“The way
we design and synthesize the superlattice creates the atomic-scale magnetic
interactions responsible for twisting the spins,†said physicist Elizabeth
Skoropata, who co-led the study with John Nichols, both formerly of ORNL.
ORNL’s
Ho Nyung Lee added, “Our finding demonstrates how to precisely engineer
interfaces in oxide quantum heterostructures to create nanometer-sized
skyrmions.â€