Tuning Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in ferrimagnetic GdCo: A first-principles approach

We present a systematic analysis of our ability to tune chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in compensated ferrimagnetic Pt/GdCo/Pt1-xWx trilayers by cap layer composition. Using first-principles calculations, we show that the DMI increases rapidly for only similar to 10% W and saturates thereafter, in agreement with experiments. The calculated DMI shows a spread in values around the experimental mean, depending on the atomic configuration of the cap layer interface. The saturation is attributed to the vanishing of spin-orbit coupling energy at the cap layer and the simultaneous constancy at the bottom interface. Additionally, we predict the DMI in Pt/GdCo/X (X = Ta, W, Ir) and find that W in the cap layer favors a higher DMI than Ta and Jr that can be attributed to the difference in d-band overlap around the Fermi level. Our results open up exciting combinatorial possibilities for controlling the DMI in ferrimagnets towards nucleating and manipulating ultrasmall high-speed skyrmions.

Automated summary

In this study, the ability to tune the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in magnetic trilayers was systematically analyzed. It was found that the DMI increases rapidly and saturates with the addition of about 10% tungsten. Additionally, the presence of tungsten in the cap layer was predicted to result in a higher DMI compared to tantalum and iridium.