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Abstract Room‐temperature magnetic skyrmion materials exhibiting robust topological Hall effect (THE) are crucial for novel nano‐spintronic devices. However, such skyrmion‐hosting materials are rare in nature. In this study, a self‐intercalated transition metal dichalcogenide Cr1+xTe2with a layered crystal structure that hosts room‐temperature skyrmions and exhibits large THE is reported. By tuning the self‐intercalate concentration, a monotonic control of Curie temperature from 169 to 333 K and a magnetic anisotropy transition from out‐of‐plane to the in‐plane configuration are achieved. Based on the intercalation engineering, room‐temperature skyrmions are successfully created in Cr1.53Te2with a Curie temperature of 295 K and a relatively weak perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Remarkably, a skyrmion‐induced topological Hall resistivity as large as ≈106 nΩ cm is observed at 290 K. Moreover, a sign reversal of THE is also found at low temperatures, which can be ascribed to other topological spin textures having an opposite topological charge to that of the skyrmions. Therefore, chromium telluride can be a new paradigm of the skyrmion material family with promising prospects for future device applications.
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Emergent chirality in a polar meron to skyrmion phase transition
Abstract Polar skyrmions are predicted to emerge from the interplay of elastic, electrostatic and gradient energies, in contrast to the key role of the anti-symmetric Dzyalozhinskii-Moriya interaction in magnetic skyrmions. Here, we explore the reversible transition from a skyrmion state (topological charge of −1) to a two-dimensional, tetratic lattice of merons (with topological charge of −1/2) upon varying the temperature and elastic boundary conditions in [(PbTiO3)16/(SrTiO3)16]8membranes. This topological phase transition is accompanied by a change in chirality, from zero-net chirality (in meronic phase) to net-handedness (in skyrmionic phase). We show how scanning electron diffraction provides a robust measure of the local polarization simultaneously with the strain state at sub-nm resolution, while also directly mapping the chirality of each skyrmion. Using this, we demonstrate strain as a crucial order parameter to drive isotropic-to-anisotropic structural transitions of chiral polar skyrmions to non-chiral merons, validated with X-ray reciprocal space mapping and phase-field simulations.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1719875
- PAR ID:
- 10401432
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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