Hydrogen toggling between Yoshimori spin spirals and elliptical Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya skyrmions in Fe on Ir(110)

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Knispel, Timo, Tseplyaev, Vasily, Bihlmayer, Gustav, Blügel, Stefan, Michely, Thomas, Fischer, Jeison
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Knispel, Timo
Tseplyaev, Vasily
Bihlmayer, Gustav
Blügel, Stefan
Michely, Thomas
Fischer, Jeison
author_facet Knispel, Timo
Tseplyaev, Vasily
Bihlmayer, Gustav
Blügel, Stefan
Michely, Thomas
Fischer, Jeison
contents Skyrmions are particle-like spin textures that arise from spin spiral states in the presence of an external magnetic field. These spirals can originate from either frustrated Heisenberg exchange interactions or the interplay between exchange interactions and the relativistic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, leading to atomic- and mesoscale textures, respectively. However, the conversion of exchange-stabilized spin spirals into skyrmions typically requires magnetic fields that exceed practical laboratory limits. Here, we demonstrate a strategy leveraging hydrogen adsorption to expand the range of magnetic films capable of hosting stable or metastable skyrmions. In a structurally open and anisotropic system of two pseudomorphic Fe layers on Ir(110), spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy combined with ab initio calculations reveals that a right-handed, exchange-stabilized Néel-type spin spiral propagating along the [$\overline{1}10$] direction with a $1.3$~nm period transitions upon hydrogen adsorption to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type spiral with a sevenfold longer period of $8.5$~nm. This transition enables elliptical skyrmions to form at moderate magnetic fields. Hydrogenation thus provides a non-volatile mechanism to toggle between distinct magnetic states, offering a versatile platform for controlling spin textures.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_08531
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hydrogen toggling between Yoshimori spin spirals and elliptical Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya skyrmions in Fe on Ir(110)
Knispel, Timo
Tseplyaev, Vasily
Bihlmayer, Gustav
Blügel, Stefan
Michely, Thomas
Fischer, Jeison
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Skyrmions are particle-like spin textures that arise from spin spiral states in the presence of an external magnetic field. These spirals can originate from either frustrated Heisenberg exchange interactions or the interplay between exchange interactions and the relativistic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, leading to atomic- and mesoscale textures, respectively. However, the conversion of exchange-stabilized spin spirals into skyrmions typically requires magnetic fields that exceed practical laboratory limits. Here, we demonstrate a strategy leveraging hydrogen adsorption to expand the range of magnetic films capable of hosting stable or metastable skyrmions. In a structurally open and anisotropic system of two pseudomorphic Fe layers on Ir(110), spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy combined with ab initio calculations reveals that a right-handed, exchange-stabilized Néel-type spin spiral propagating along the [$\overline{1}10$] direction with a $1.3$~nm period transitions upon hydrogen adsorption to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type spiral with a sevenfold longer period of $8.5$~nm. This transition enables elliptical skyrmions to form at moderate magnetic fields. Hydrogenation thus provides a non-volatile mechanism to toggle between distinct magnetic states, offering a versatile platform for controlling spin textures.
title Hydrogen toggling between Yoshimori spin spirals and elliptical Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya skyrmions in Fe on Ir(110)
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.08531