Room-temperature observation and current control of skyrmions in Pt/Co/Os/Pt thin films

We report the observation of room-temperature magnetic skyrmions in Pt/Co/Os/Pt thin-film heterostructures and their response to electric currents. The magnetic properties are extremely sensitive to inserting thin Os layers between the Co-Pt interface, resulting in reduced saturation magnetization, magnetic anisotropy, and Curie temperature. The observed skyrmions exist in a narrow temperature, applied-field and layer-thickness range near the spin-reorientation transition from perpendicular to in-plane magnetic anisotropy. The skyrmions have an average diameter of 2.3 mu m and transport measurements demonstrate these features can be displaced by means of spin-orbit torques with current densities as low as J = 2 x 10(8) A/m(2) and display a skyrmion Hall effect.