Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Scientists use heat to create transformations between skyrmions and antiskyrmions

Abstract:
In an experiment that could help the development of new spintronics devices with low energy consumption, researchers from RIKEN and collaborators have used heat and magnetic fields to create transformations between spin textures—magnetic vortices and antivortices known as skyrmions and antiskyrmions — in a single crystal thin plate device. Importantly, they achieved this at room temperature.

Scientists use heat to create transformations between skyrmions and antiskyrmions

Wako, Japan | Posted on January 12th, 2024

Skyrmions and antiskyrmions, which are textures that exist within special magnetic materials involving the spin of the electrons in the material, are an active area of research, as they could be used for next-generation memory devices for example, with skyrmions acting as a “1” bit and antiskyrmions a “0” bit. In the past, scientists have been able to move them in a variety of ways, and to create transformations between them using electric current. However, because current electronic devices consume electrical power and produce waste heat, the researchers in the group, led by Xiuzhen Yu at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, decided to see if they could find a way to create the transformations using heat gradients.

According to Yu, “As approximately two-thirds of the energy produced by power plants, automobiles, incinerators, and factories is wasted as heat, we thought it would be important to try to create transformations between skyrmions and antiskyrimions—which has previously been done using electric current—using heat.”

To perform the research, published in Nature Communications, the researchers used a focused-ion beam—an extremely precise fabrication system—to create a microdevice from the bulk single crystal magnet (Fe0.63Ni0.3Pd0.07)3P, composed of iron, nickel, palladium, and phosphorous atoms, and then used Lorentz scanning microscopy—an advanced method for examining the magnetic properties of materials at very small scales.

What they found is that when a temperature gradient was applied to the crystal simultaneously with a magnetic field, at room temperature, the antiskyrmions within it transformed first into non-topological bubbles—a sort of transition state between skyrmions and antiskyrmions—and then to skyrmions, as the temperature gradient was raised. They then remained in stable configuration as skyrmions even when the thermal gradient was eliminated.

This was a finding consistent with theoretical expectations, but a second finding surprised the group. According to Fehmi Sami Yasin, a postdoctoral researcher in Yu’s group, “We were surprised to also find that when the magnetic field was not applied, the thermal gradient led to a transformation from skyrmions to antiskyrmions, which also remained stable within the material.”

“What is very exciting about this,” he continues, “is that this means we could use a thermal gradient—basically using waste heat—to drive a transformation between skyrmions and antiskyrmions, depending on whether a magnetic field is applied or not. It is particularly significant that we were able to do this at room temperature. This could open the way to a new type of information storage devices such as nonvolatile memory devices using waste heat.”

According to Yu, “We are very excited about his finding, and plan to continue our work to manipulate skyrmions and antiskymions in new and more efficient ways, including the thermal control of antiskyrmion motion, with the goal to build actual thermospintronic and other spintronics devices that could be used in our everyday lives. To make better devices we need to thoroughly explore various device designs and geometries.”

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Jens Wilkinson
RIKEN

Office: 81-484-621-424

Copyright © RIKEN

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

ARTICLE TITLE

Related News Press

News and information

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

Energy transmission in quantum field theory requires information September 13th, 2024

Breakthrough in proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide: Kumamoto University researchers achieve new milestone in advanced coating technologies September 13th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

Physics

Physicists unlock the secret of elusive quantum negative entanglement entropy using simple classical hardware August 16th, 2024

New method cracked for high-capacity, secure quantum communication July 5th, 2024

Finding quantum order in chaos May 17th, 2024

International research team uses wavefunction matching to solve quantum many-body problems: New approach makes calculations with realistic interactions possible May 17th, 2024

Skyrmions

Spin photonics to move forward with new anapole probe November 4th, 2022

Search for strange Skyrmion phenomenon fails but finds stranger magnetic beaded necklace: Physicists on the hunt for a rarely seen magnetic spin texture have discovered another object that bears its hallmarks, hidden in the structure of ultra-thin magnetic films, that they have c April 2nd, 2021

The ICN2 co-leads a roadmap on quantum materials September 29th, 2020

Discovery may lead to new materials for next-generation data storage: Army-funded research demonstrates emergent chirality in polar skyrmions for the first time in oxide superlattices May 10th, 2019

Possible Futures

Rice research could make weird AI images a thing of the past: New diffusion model approach solves the aspect ratio problem September 13th, 2024

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery: NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery September 13th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

Discoveries

Energy transmission in quantum field theory requires information September 13th, 2024

Breakthrough in proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide: Kumamoto University researchers achieve new milestone in advanced coating technologies September 13th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

New nanomaterial could transform how we visualise fingerprints: Innovative nanomaterials have the potential to revolutionise forensic science, particularly in the detection of latent (non-visible) fingermarks September 13th, 2024

Announcements

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery: NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery September 13th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Rice research could make weird AI images a thing of the past: New diffusion model approach solves the aspect ratio problem September 13th, 2024

Breakthrough in proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide: Kumamoto University researchers achieve new milestone in advanced coating technologies September 13th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

New nanomaterial could transform how we visualise fingerprints: Innovative nanomaterials have the potential to revolutionise forensic science, particularly in the detection of latent (non-visible) fingermarks September 13th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project