Visualizing the strongly reshaped skyrmion Hall effect in multilayer wire devices

Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale spin textures touted as next-generation computing elements. When subjected to lateral currents, skyrmions move at considerable speeds. Their topological charge results in an additional transverse deflection known as the skyrmion Hall effect (SkHE). While promising, their dynamic phenomenology with current, skyrmion size, geometric effects and disorder remain to be established. This study examines the ensemble dynamics of individual skyrmions in Pt/Co/MgO wires, analyzing over 20,000 instances of motion. Skyrmion speed reaches 24 m/s, robust to size variations. SkHE saturates at ~22°, reshaped by the wire edge, and increases weakly with skyrmion size. Simulations suggest this size dependence arises from intrinsic and pinning effects. These results provide a framework for harnessing SkHE and achieving high-throughput skyrmion motion in wire devices.

Anthony K. C. Tan, Pin Ho, James Lourembam, Lisen Huang, Hang Khume Tan, Cynthia J. O. Reichhardt, Charles Reichhardt, Anjan Soumyanarayanan