Spontaneous Vortex‐Antivortex Pairs and Their Topological Transitions in a Chiral‐Lattice Magnet

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2024-01, Vol.36 (1), p.e2306441-n/a
• Main Authors: Yu, Xiuzhen, Kanazawa, Naoya, Zhang, Xichao, Takahashi, Yoshio, Iakoubovskii, Konstantin V., Nakajima, Kiyomi, Tanigaki, Toshiaki, Mochizuki, Masahito, Tokura, Yoshinori
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropy; anti vortex; bimerons; chiral‐lattice magnet; Hypothetical particles; Magnets; Materials science; Particle theory; Quantum computing; Superconductivity; topological‐state transformation; Topology; Vortices
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202306441

The spontaneous formation and topological transitions of vortex‐antivortex pairs have implications for a broad range of emergent phenomena, for example, from superconductivity to quantum computing. Unlike magnets exhibiting collinear spin textures, helimagnets with noncollinear spin textures provide unique opportunities to manipulate topological forms such as (anti)merons and (anti)skyrmions. However, it is challenging to achieve multiple topological states and their interconversion in a single helimagnet due to the topological protection for each state. Here, the on‐demand creation of multiple topological states in a helimagnet Fe0.5Co0.5Ge, including a spontaneous vortex pair of meron with topological charge N = −1/2 and antimeron with N = 1/2, and a vortex‐antivortex bundle, that is, a bimeron (meron pair) with N = −1 is reported. The mutual transformation between skyrmions and bimerons with respect to the competitive effects of magnetic field and magnetic shape anisotropy is demonstrated. It is shown that electric currents drive the individual bimerons to form their connecting assembly and then into a skyrmion lattice. These findings signify the feasibility of designing topological states and offer new insights into the manipulation of noncollinear spin textures for potential applications in various fields. The emerging field of quantum computing, which relies on multiple electronic states, has recently garnered significant attention. Here, the on‐demand creation of multiple states in a helimagnet Fe0.5Co0.5Ge, including (anti)merons with N = ±1/2, bimerons, and skyrmions with N = −1 is presented. The transformations among these states through the application of magnetic fields and electric currents are demonstrated.