Nondestructive ultrafast steering of a magnetic vortex by terahertz pulses

Electric control of magnetic vortex dynamics in a reproducible way on an ultrafast time scale is a key element in the quest for efficient spintronic devices with low-energy consumption. To be useful, the control scheme should ideally be swift, be scalable, be noninvasive, and result in reliable magnetic switching. Such requirements, particularly the reproducibility of altering the vortex chirality and/or polarity, are not yet met by magnetic vortex switching via external magnetic fields, spin-polarized currents, spin waves, or laser pulses. Here, we demonstrate a novel packaged-skyrmion-mediated vortex switching process driven by a simple sequence of picosecond electrical field pulses via magnetoelectric interactions. Both the vortex chirality and polarity show a well-defined reversal behavior. The unambiguous repeated switching between four different magnetic vortex states provides an energy-efficient, highly localized, and coherent control method for nonvolatile magnetic vortex-based information storage and handling.