10.15128/R12514NK51W
Birch, Thomas, Max
Durham University
Increased Lifetime of Metastable Skyrmions by Controlled Doping [dataset]
Durham University
2019
Durham University
Durham University
Durham University
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Diamond Light Source
Hatton, Peter
Durham University
Physics
Skyrmion
Magnetism
2019-07-09
Dataset
100058542
application/zip
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY)
ark:/32150/r12514nk51w
Previous observations of metastable magnetic skyrmions have shown that close to the equilibrium pocket the metastable state has a short lifetime, and therefore rapid cooling is required to generate a signi cant skyrmion population at low temperatures. Here, we report that the lifetime of metastable skyrmions in crystals of Cu2OSeO3 is extended by a factor of 50 with the introduction of only 2.5% zinc doping, allowing over 50% of the population to survive when eld-cooling at a rate of just 1 K/min. Our systematic study suggests that the lifetime enhancement is due to the increase in the pinning site density, rather than an alteration to the energy barrier of the decay process. We expect that doping can be exploited to control the lifetime of the metastable SkL state in other chiral magnets, o ering a method of engineering skyrmion materials towards application in future devices.
Magnetometry, Small Angle Neutron Scattering, Magnetic Resonance