磁性斯格明子的研究现状和展望

磁性斯格明子是具有拓扑保护性质的纳米尺度涡旋磁结构.斯格明子主要存在于非中心对称的手性磁性材料以及界面镜面对称性破缺的磁性薄膜材料中.因具有实空间的非平庸拓扑性,磁性斯格明子展现出丰富新奇的物理学特性,例如拓扑霍尔效应,新兴电磁动力学等,为研究拓扑自旋电子学提供了新的平台.另一方面,由于其具有尺寸小,高稳定性和易操控的特性,磁性斯格明子在未来高密度,低能耗,非易失性计算和存储器件中也具有潜在应用.现阶段的研究已经初步发现一系列磁斯格明子材料,并证明能够通过电流操控室温下稳定的磁性斯格明子,但是室温下单个斯格明子的精确产生、湮灭以及探测在实验上仍具有挑战性.本文阐述了磁性斯格明子的基础理论以及动力学研究现状,并对现有的斯格明子材料和斯格明子的产生,湮灭以及探测方法进行了总结,最后还对未来磁性斯格明子的物理理论研究以及应用发展中的挑战和机遇进行了讨论.     

高温度稳定性磁斯格明子的材料发现及性能调控

文章报道了阻挫型磁体Fe_3Sn_2中高温度稳定性磁斯格明子材料的发现以及利用电流实现斯格明子自旋手性翻转的一系列工作。作者首先基于合金化设计的思想,解决了晶体取向生长困难和易发生包晶反应这两个关键技术难题,生长出了高质量的Fe_3Sn_2单晶样品。通过原位洛伦兹电镜观测发现,该材料体系具有室温磁性斯格明子,并具有多种拓扑形态,而且在外部磁场作用下可以相互转化。作者进一步利用聚焦离子束(FIB)技术,采用空间几何受限方法,制备出了磁斯格明子单链排列的"赛道"纳米条带样品。实验发现,该样品中斯格明子可以在室温到630 K极宽温区内保持其尺寸及间距不变,这表明该材料中斯格明子具有极高的温度稳定性。在这些研究工作基础上,作者在"赛道"纳米条带样品中进一步实现了电流驱动的斯格明子自旋手性翻转。作者这一系列关于高温度稳定性磁斯格明子材料以及相关器件的探索工作,从材料和器件两个方面推进了磁斯格明子材料的实用化。     

薄膜异质结及二维材料中的磁斯格明子

磁斯格明子因具有拓扑稳定、移动速度快、尺寸小、驱动电流密度低等优异性质引起了人们的广泛关注。它被视作未来超高密度磁存储和逻辑功能器件的理想信息载体。基于磁斯格明子的自旋电子学器件具有非易失、高读写速度、高存储密度以及低功耗的优势,从而能满足人们对高性能器件的要求。此外,拓扑性与磁性的结合使得磁斯格明子成为研究拓扑磁性物理的良好平台。文章简要介绍了磁斯格明子的发展概况及其拓扑物理性质,并着重讨论薄膜异质结及二维材料中磁斯格明子的研究进展,为今后进一步探索磁斯格明子相关研究领域抛砖引玉。     

磁性斯格明子的多场调控研究

斯格明子(skyrmion)的概念最早是由英国的粒子物理学家Tony Skyrme提出,它被用来描述粒子的一个状态,是一种拓扑孤立子.磁性斯格明子是一种具有拓扑行为的新型磁结构,其空间尺寸为纳米量级,空间距离从纳米到微米量级可调;其存在温度涵盖从低温、室温到高温的宽温区;其材料体系不仅包括早期发现的低温区B20型中心对称破缺的铁磁体和螺旋磁有序的弱铁磁材料,也包括近期发现的室温及以上的中心对称六角结构磁性MnNiGa金属合金和磁性薄膜/多层膜体系.利用磁性斯格明子的拓扑磁结构可以实现类似于自旋阀或者磁性隧道结中的自旋转移矩效应,即外加电流可以驱动斯格明子,其临界电流密度比传统翻转磁性多层膜体系中磁矩的电流密度(一般为10~7A/cm~2)要低5个数量级,约为10~2A/cm~2,该临界值远低于硅基半导体技术中沟道电流密度的上限,在未来的磁信息技术中具有广泛的应用前景.本综述简单介绍了磁性斯格明子的发展历程,归纳总结了磁性斯格明子的材料体系,介绍了观察磁性斯格明子的实验手段,重点介绍了多场(磁场、电流、温度场)调控作用下中心对称MnNiGa合金和Pt/Co/Ta磁性多层膜体系中磁性斯格明子的产生、消失以及外场调控演变等动态行为.     

磁畴壁拓扑结构研究进展

拓扑磁性斯格明子作为信息载体单元具备高可靠性、高集成度、低能耗等优势,有望提高数据读写精度、降低功耗,从而研发新型拓扑自旋电子学材料与原理型器件,为信息技术、5G通信和大数据等的高速发展提供材料与技术支持.但磁性斯格明子同时存在需要磁场稳定以及电流驱动下斯格明子霍尔效应引起偏转等缺点,严重阻碍了其在实际器件中的应用,因此探索新型拓扑磁畴结构和适宜应用的材料体系成为研究的关键.本文将重点介绍自2013年理论预言磁畴壁斯格明子以来,利用高分辨率洛伦兹透射电子显微镜原位实空间发现并研究磁畴壁拓扑麦纫和磁畴壁斯格明子的实验工作.首次在范德瓦耳斯Fe_5–xGeTe₂二维磁性材料中发现温度诱发的180°磁畴壁转变为拓扑麦韧链,研究了磁畴壁麦纫态在外界电场、磁场作用下的集体运动行为,揭示了基于自旋重取向、磁畴壁限域效应以及弱相互作用下生成磁畴壁拓扑态的机制.在该机制指导下,设计制备了具有自旋重取向的GdFeCo非晶亚铁磁薄膜,不仅获得了磁畴壁麦纫,验证了生成机制的普适性,还成功实现了畴壁麦韧对到畴壁斯格明子的可逆拓扑转变,开辟了基于磁畴壁等内禀限域效应开展...     

磁斯格明子的微磁学研究进展和应用

磁斯格明子作为一种具有拓扑保护性质的准粒子受到了磁学与磁性材料领域科学家的广泛关注.本文对磁斯格明子的拓扑性质进行了概述,回顾了磁斯格明子的存在条件以及运输特性,综述了近年来利用微磁学模拟研究的磁斯格明子激发、操控、微波磁场响应以及基于磁斯格明子的器件设计,主要包括赛道存储器、自旋纳米振荡器、晶体管和逻辑门.通过本文的综述,希望为磁斯格明子在未来信息领域的应用提供参考.     

纳米结构中磁斯格明子的原位电子全息研究

斯格明子(skyrmion)磁序结构与晶体微观结构的关联是新型功能磁材料和器件研发的重要问题.本文利用微纳加工技术制备了形状、尺寸均可控的磁纳米结构,通过电子全息术观察定量地分析了斯格明子磁序结构,确定了材料晶格缺陷和空间受限效应对斯格明子磁结构形成和稳定机制的影响,系统地分析了斯格明子基元的磁功能与材料微结构的关联.文中主要探讨了两个问题:1)斯格明子在磁纳米结构中的空间受限效应.重点研究斯格明子磁序随外磁场和温度变化的演变规律,探索其演变过程的拓扑属性和稳定性;2)晶格缺陷对斯格明子磁结构的影响,重点考察晶界原子结构手性反转对斯格明子磁序的影响.这些研究结果可为研发以磁斯格明子为基元的磁信息存储器及自旋电子学器件提供重要实验基础.     

磁性斯格明子晶格的磁弹现象与机理

近年来,人们在一些具有手性相互作用的磁性体材料及薄膜中成功观测到具有非平凡拓扑性质的二维自旋结构,称作磁性斯格明子.在大部分情况下,磁性斯格明子自发地聚集成一种晶格结构,称作斯格明子晶格.孤立的斯格明子由于其奇特的拓扑性质以及优异的电流驱动性质等"局域化特征"受到人们的广泛关注.与此相对,斯格明子晶格作为一种新颖的宏观磁性相,可能与材料固有的多场耦合性质发生相互作用进而引发许多奇特的宏观物理现象乃至新性质.在此范畴内,人们发现由于手征磁体内禀的磁弹耦合,斯格明子晶格不但对材料的力学性质产生影响,而且在外力作用下自身具备"层展的弹性性质".本文对相关现象进行梳理,并基于一种针对B20族手征磁体磁弹耦合效应普遍适用的热力学唯象模型,逐一简述对于不同类型的磁弹现象如何建模分析,进而给出其中一部分现象的实验与理论结果比对.最后,对这一领域的发展提出几个可供进一步探索的方向.     

宽温域跨室温磁斯格明子材料的发现及器件研究

报道了阻挫型磁体Fe_3Sn_2单晶中宽温域跨室温磁斯格明子的发现及其"赛道型"微纳器件的初步探索.通过合金化设计和实验,突破晶体取向生长和克服包晶反应两个关键技术难关,制备出了高质量的Fe_3Sn_2单晶.原位洛伦兹电子显微镜结果表明,在该材料体系中,磁斯格明子具有多种拓扑结构,并可以在一定磁场下相互转化.基于高质量的Fe_3Sn_2单晶,利用聚焦离子束技术,进一步制备出了600 nm宽并具有磁斯格明子单链排列的"赛道性"微纳器件.实验结果表明,该单链磁斯格明子具有极高的温度稳定性:单个磁斯格明子的尺寸以及相邻两个磁斯格明子之间的距离可以在室温到630 K宽温区内保持不变.宽温域跨室温磁斯格明子材料Fe_3Sn_2的发现及单链"赛道型"微纳器件的成功制备,从材料和器件两个方面推进了磁斯格明子材料的实用化.     

磁斯格明子器件及其应用进展

磁斯格明子是一种具有准粒子特性的拓扑纳米磁畴壁结构.由于磁斯格明子具有较好的稳定性和新奇的动力学特性,并可被磁场、电场、电流等方式调控,有望成为高密度、低耗能、非易失性信息存储及逻辑运算的新兴信息载体.自2009年磁斯格明子首次被实验观测到至今,已有多种基于磁斯格明子的器件概念和原型器件被提出.本文对基于磁斯格明子应用的研究进展进行综述,对现阶段几种具有代表性的磁斯格明子器件应用进行简要介绍、分析和总结,包括基于磁斯格明子的赛道存储器件、逻辑计算器件、类晶体管功能器件和纳米级微波振荡器;同时阐述了几种可能的通过磁斯格明子表达二进制信息元的方法;并展望了磁斯格明子的其他潜在应用以及未来基于磁斯格明子器件应用的发展方向.     

过量B的Ta/CoFeB/MgO薄膜垂直各向异性和温度稳定性的增强

以CoFeB/MgO为核心单元的垂直各向异性薄膜体系和相关的垂直磁隧道结已获得广泛研究,其中CoFeB的B含量基本都保持为原子比20%.本文采用磁控溅射制备了Ta/(Co0.5Fe0.5)1-xBx/MgO三明治结构及生长顺序相反的系列薄膜,并在573—623K进行真空退火,研究了样品垂直各向异性随B成分的变化.结果显示,当B含量减小到10%时,Ta/CoFeB/MgO体系的垂直各向异性明显降低;相反,当B含量增加至30%时,该体系的垂直各向异性明显增强;发现在高B含量的情形下,样品的垂直各向异性大小与温度稳定性均与三明治结构的生长顺序密切相关;获得了具有优异温度稳定性的垂直磁化MgO/CoFeB/Ta样品.结果表明适当增加B含量是增强CoFeB/MgO体系垂直各向异性和温度稳定性的有效途径之一.     

Magnetic annealing of the ion-beam sputtered IrMn/CoFeB bilayers – positive exchange bias and coercivity behaviour

The effect of optimum dilution of antiferromagnetic (AF)/ferromagnetic (FM) interface necessary for observance of positive exchange bias in ion-beam sputtered Si/Ir₂₂Mn₇₈ (t _AF = 12, 18, 24 nm)/Co₂₀Fe₆₀B₂₀(t _FM = 6,9,15 nm) exchange coupled bilayers is investigated by magnetic annealing at 380, 420 and 460 °C for 1 h at 5 × 10^-6 Torr in presence of 500 Oe magnetic field. While the coercivity of the exchange coupled FM layer decreases with the increase in annealing temperature irrespective of the value of t _AF or t _FM, the hysteresis loops however shift by ≈+ 10 Oe whenever the coercivity drops in the 10–15 Oe range. This is consistent with the phase diagram of exchange bias field and coercivity derived from Meiklejohn and Bean model. The X-ray diffraction and X-ray reflectivity measurements confirmed that the texture, grain size and interface roughness of IrMn/CoFeB bilayers are thickness dependent and are correlated to the observed magnetic response of the bilayers. The results establish that optimum dilution of the IrMn/CoFeB interface by thermally diffused Mn-spins is necessary in inducing the effective coupling between the IrMn domains and diluted CoFeB layer. It is further shown that the annealing temperature required for the optimum dilution of the CoFeB interface critically depends on the thickness of the layers.     

Anomalous Hall effect in perpendicular CoFeB thin films

Our recent research achievements in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy （PMA） properties of the CoFeB sand- wiched by MgO and tantalum layers are summarized. We found that the PMA behaviors of Ta/CoFeB/MgO and MgO/CoFeB/Ta thin films are different. The larger PMA in the latter film is related to the lower magnetization of CoFeB deposited on MgO. Furthermore, we have demonstrated a large anomalous Hall effect in perpendicular CoFeB thin fihn. Our results show large anomalous Hall resistivity, large longitudinal resistivity, and low switching field can be achieved, all at the same time, in the perpendicular CoFeB thin film. Anomalous Hall effect with high and linear sensitivity is also found in an MgO/CoFeBFFa thin film with a thick MgO layer, which opens a door tbr future device applications of perpendicular ferromagnetic thin films.     

Influence of temperature on thermal relaxation of exchange bias field in CoFe/Cu/CoFe/IrMn spin valve

A multilayered spin valve film with a structure of Ta(5 nm)/Co_(75)Fe_(25)(5 nm)/Cu(2.5 nm)/Co_(75)Fe_(25)(5 nm)/Ir_(20)Mn_(80)(12 nm)/Ta(8 nm) is prepared by the high-vacuum direct current(DC) magnetron sputtering. The effect of temperature on the spin valve structure and the magnetic properties are studied by x-ray diffraction(XRD), atomic force microscopy(AFM), and vibrating sample magnetometry. The effect of temperature on the exchange bias field thermomagnetic properties of multilayered spin valve is studied by the residence time of samples in a reverse saturation field. The results show that as the temperature increases, the Ir Mn(111) texture weakens, surface/interface roughness increases, and the exchange bias field decreases. Below 200℃, the exchange bias field decreases with the residence time increasing, and at the beginning of the negative saturation field, the exchange bias field Hex decreases first quickly and then slowly gradually. When the temperature is greater than 200℃, the exchange bias field is unchanged with the residence time increasing.     

Effects of thickness and annealing condition on magnetic properties and thermal stabilities of Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta sandwiched films

Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta sandwiched films are deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si(100) substrates,and subsequently annealed in vacuum at different temperatures for different time.It is found that both the thickness of NdFeB and Nd layer and the annealing condition can affect the magnetic properties of Ta/Nd/NdFeB/Nd/Ta films.Interestingly,the thickness and annealing temperature show the relevant behaviors that can affect the magnetic properties of the film.The high coercivity of 24.1 kOe(1 Oe = 79.5775 A/m) and remanence ratio(remanent magnetization/saturation magnetization)of 0.94 can be obtained in a Ta/Nd(250 nm)/NdFeB(600 nm)/Nd(250 nm)/Ta film annealed for 3 min at 1023 K.In addition,the thermal stability of the film is also linked to the thickness of NdFeB and Nd layer and the annealing temperature as well.The excellent thermal stability can be achieved in a Ta/Nd(250 nm)/NdFeB(600 nm)/Nd(250 nm)/Ta film annealed at1023 K.     

Nd-Ce-Fe-B纳米复合薄膜的磁性及交换耦合作用

采用磁控溅射技术制备了具有永磁特征的Nd-Ce-Fe-B多层纳米复合薄膜,并对其进行了退火处理.通过改变退火温度,研究其对薄膜磁性能和晶体结构的影响.结果表明,随着退火温度的提高薄膜磁性能逐渐增大,但当温度达到695℃以上时,薄膜的磁性能急剧下降.当退火温度为675℃时,薄膜的矫顽力Hci=10.1 kOe(1Oe=79.5775 A/m),垂直于薄膜表面方向的剩余磁化强度4πM_(r⊥)=5.91 kG(1 G=10~3/(4π)A/m).薄膜的X射线衍射结果表明,磁性薄膜具有较好的c轴取向.通过对薄膜磁化反转过程的研究,发现随着外加磁场的增大,M_(rev)的极小值向M_(irr)减小的方向移动,这与畴壁弯曲模型类似,表明在薄膜中存在较强烈的局部钉扎作用,而剩余磁化强度曲线表明这种钉扎作用在薄膜矫顽力机制中并不占支配作用.此外,薄膜的Henkel曲线结果表明在薄膜中存在较强的交换耦合作用,在经过685℃退火的薄膜中磁相互作用更加显著.     

Ferromagnetic resonance in monocrystalline spin valves CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB and CoFeB films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Orientation dependences of ferromagnetic resonance in a MgO/CoFeB/MgO/Ta film with one ferromagnetic layer (monolayer) and in a MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta spin valve containing two single-crystal ferromagnetic CoFeB layers divided by a nonmagnetic Ta layer (bilayer) were investigated. Analysis of the orientation dependences of the structures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy allowed calculating constants of magnetic anisotropy and damping factors. Physical reasons underlying the differences between these parameters in one- and two-layered structures are discussed.     

Bias voltage dependence of inverted magnetoresistance on the annealing temperature in MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions

MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with a layer sequence Ir₂₂Mn₇₈ or Fe₅₀Mn₅₀ (10 nm)/CoFe (2 nm)/Ru (0.85 nm)/CoFeB (0.5?t<2 nm)/MgO (2.5 nm)/CoFeB (3 nm) have been fabricated. The bias voltage dependence of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is given as a function of the annealing temperature for these MTJs, which shows the TMR ratio changes its sign from inverted to normal at a critical bias voltage (V_C) when an unbalanced synthetic antiferromagnetic stack CoFe/Ru/CoFeB is used. V_Cs change with the thickness of the pinned CoFeB and annealing temperature, which implies one can achieve different V_Cs by artificial control. The asymmetric V_C values suggest that a strong density-of-states modification occurs at bottom oxide/ferromagnet interface.     

Bias voltage and temperature dependence of magneto-electric properties in double-barrier magnetic tunnel junction with amorphous Co-Fe-B electrodes

Bias voltage and temperature dependence of magneto-electric properties in double-barrier magnetic tunnel junctions(DBMTJs) with a structure of [IrMn/CoFe/Ru/CoFeB]/Al-O/CoFeB/Al-O/[CoFeB/Ru/CoFe/IrMn], have been investigated. The DBMTJs show a large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of up to 57.6%, a high V_1/2 value of 1.26 V and small switching field H_c of 9.5 Oe at room temperature (RT). The TMR reaches the maximum at 30 K, about 89.0%, and decreases slightly from 30 to 4.2 K. A novel zero-bias anomaly (ZBA) in the P state is found and is temperature dependent, more sharply at low temperature, whereas a normal ZBA exists in the AP state. These effects are ascribed to magnon-, phonon- and impurity-assisted tunneling, and variation of density of states. The DBMTJ with a large TMR ratio, a high V_1/2, and small switching field H_c is promising for developing the future spin electronic devices.     

Unusual Anomalous Hall Effect in a Co_2MnSi/MnGa/Pt Trilayer

An ultra-thin Co_2MnSi(0.5 nm)/Mn Ga(1.5 nm) bilayer capped with Pt(5 nm) has been successfully grown by molecular-beam epitaxy.It is a potential candidate of synthetic antiferromagnets due to antiferromagnetic coupling between Co_2MnSi and MnGa,which is a promising skyrmion-racetrack-memory medium without skyrmion Hall effect after capping with a Pt layer.Unusual humps in transverse Hall resistance loops are clearly observed in the temperature range from 260 to 400 K.This anomaly is generally attributed to topological Hall effect,but other than that,we prove that non-uniform rotation of magnetic moments in the bilayer with magnetic field sweeping is also a possible mechanism contributed to the unusual hump.