Antiferromagnetic half-skyrmions electrically generated and controlled at room temperature

Topologically protected magnetic textures are promising candidates for information carriers in future memory devices, as they can be efficiently propelled at very high velocities using current-induced spin torques. These textures-nanoscale whirls in the magnetic order-include skyrmions, half-skyrmions (merons) and their antiparticles. Antiferromagnets have been shown to host versions of these textures that have high potential for terahertz dynamics, deflection-free motion and improved size scaling due to the absence of stray field. Here we show that topological spin textures, merons and antimerons, can be generated at room temperature and reversibly moved using electrical pulses in thin-film CuMnAs, a semimetallic antiferromagnet that is a testbed system for spintronic applications. The merons and antimerons are localized on 180 degrees domain walls, and move in the direction of the current pulses. The electrical generation and manipulation of antiferromagnetic merons is a crucial step towards realizing the full potential of antiferromagnetic thin films as active components in high-density, high-speed magnetic memory devices. The implementation of topological antiferromagnetic vortices in information storage devices requires an efficient method of nucleation and a way to control their movement. Here the authors find CuMnAs to be a suitable electrically conducting antiferromagnet host material for topological spin textures.

Automated summary

Researchers have discovered that topological spin textures can be generated and moved at room temperature using electrical pulses in the semimetallic antiferromagnet CuMnAs, which is a testbed system for spintronic applications. This finding is crucial for realizing the full potential of antiferromagnetic thin films as active components in high-density, high-speed magnetic memory devices.