Shilei Zhang

Abstract:

The combination of topological insulators, i.e., bulk insulators with gapless, topologically protected surface states, with magnetic order is a love-hate relationship that can unlock new quantum states and exotic physical phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect and axion electrodynamics. Moreover, the unusual coupling between topological insulators and ferromagnets can also result in the formation of topological spin textures in the ferromagnetic layer. Skyrmions are topologically-protected magnetization swirls that are promising candidates for spintronics memory carriers. Here, we report on the observation of skyrmionium in thin ferromagnetic films coupled to a magnetic topological insulator. The occurrence of skyrmionium, which appears as a soliton composed of two skyrmions with opposite winding numbers, is tied to the ferromagnetic state of the topological insulator. Our work presents a new combination of two important classes of topological materials and may open the door to new topologically inspired information-storage concepts in the future.

Abstract:

Long-wavelength spin spiral structures are ubiquitous in a large variety of magnetic materials. The detailed magnetic structure can take many variations owing to their different physical origins. Therefore, the unambiguous structural determination is crucial for understanding these spin systems, though such a task is experimentally challenging. Here we show that ordered spin spiral structures can be fully determined in a single measurement by dichroic resonant elastic x-ray scattering using circularly polarized light. It is found that at certain geometrical conditions, the circular dichroism of the diffraction vanishes completely, revealing a one-to-one correspondence with the spin structure. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally this experimental principle, which allows for unambiguous structure determination immediately from the measured signal, whereby no modeling- based data refinement is needed. This largely expands the capabilities of conventional magnetic characterization techniques.

Abstract:

The mathematical concept of topology has brought about significant advantages that allow for a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics of a system. In magnetism, the topology of spin order manifests itself in the topological winding number which plays a pivotal role for the determination of the emergent properties of a system. However, the direct experimental determination of the topological winding number of a magnetically ordered system remains elusive. Here, we present a direct relationship between the topological winding number of the spin texture and the polarized resonant X-ray scattering process. This relationship provides a one-to-one correspondence between the measured scattering signal and the winding number. We demonstrate that the exact topological quantities of the skyrmion material Cu2OSeO3 can be directly experimentally determined this way. This technique has the potential to be applicable to a wide range of materials, allowing for a direct determination of their topological properties.

Abstract:

Chiral magnets are promising materials for the realisation of high-density and low-power spintronic memory devices. For these future applications, a key requirement is the synthesis of appropriate materials in the form of thin films ordering well above room temperature. Driven by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, the cubic compound FeGe exhibits helimagnetism with a relatively high transition temperature of 278K in bulk crystals. We demonstrate that this temperature can be enhanced significantly in thin films. Using x-ray spectroscopic and ferromagnetic resonance techniques, we provide unambiguous experimental evidence for long-wavelength helimagnetic order at room temperature and magnetic properties similar to the bulk material. We obtain αintr = 0:0036 ± 0:0003 at 310K for the intrinsic damping parameter. We probe the dynamics of the system by means of muon-spin rotation, indicating that the ground state is reached via a freezing out of slow dynamics. Our work paves the way towards the fabrication of thin films of chiral magnets that host certain spin whirls, so-called skyrmions, at room temperature and potentially offer integrability into modern electronics.

Abstract:

We report a study of the strain state of epitaxial MnSi films on Si(111) substrates in the thick film limit (100-500 A) as a function of film thickness using polarization-dependent extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). All films investigated are phase-pure and of high quality with a sharp interface between MnSi and Si. The investigated MnSi films are in a thickness regime where the magnetic transition temperature Tc assumes a thickness-independent enhanced value of ≥43 K as compared with that of bulk MnSi, where Tc ≈ 29 K. A detailed refinement of the EXAFS data reveals that the Mn positions are unchanged, whereas the Si positions vary along the out-of-plane [111]-direction, alternating in orientation from unit cell to unit cell. Thus, for thick MnSi films, the unit cell volume is essentially that of bulk MnSi — except in the vicinity of the interface with the Si substrate (thin film limit). In view of the enhanced magnetic transition temperature we conclude that the mere presence of the interface, and its specific characteristics, strongly affects the magnetic properties of the entire MnSi film, even far from the interface. Our analysis provides invaluable information about the local strain at the MnSi/Si(111) interface. The presented methodology of polarization dependent EXAFS can also be employed to investigate the local structure of other interesting interfaces.