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Metastable zero-field skyrmion lattice at room temperature in van der Waals (Fe<sub>0.5</sub>Co<sub>0.5</sub>)<sub>5</sub>GeTe<sub>2</sub>

ORAL

Abstract

Recently, zero-field skyrmions at room temperature were discovered in a van der Waals 50% Co-doped Fe5GeTe2 (FCGT) with a high Curie temperature (Tc = 365 K) and novel non-centrosymmetric structure. [1] Here, we visualize the magnetic domains near room temperatures in FCGT thin flakes using a variable-temperature magnetic force microscope. The skyrmion lattice can be induced from stripe domains by a small external magnetic field and persists as a metastable state in zero field at room temperature. Interestingly, the skyrmion lattice gradually “melt” into the stripe domains with annealing temperature above 320 K. The metastable skyrmion lattice and its annealing behavior can be explained by a phenomenological picture of the free energy landscape.

[1] Hongrui Zhang et al., arXiv: 2106.00833

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Presenters

  • Ying-Ting Chan

    Rutgers University

Authors

  • Ying-Ting Chan

    Rutgers University

  • Hongrui Zhang

    University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley

  • Rui Chen

    University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley

  • Xiang Chen

    University of California at Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley

  • Jie Yao

    University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley

  • Robert J Birgeneau

    University of California, Berkeley

  • Ramamoorthy Ramesh

    University of California, Berkeley

  • Weida Wu

    Rutgers University, Rutgers University, New Brunswick