Abstract
We show that stable skyrmions with diameters of a few nanometers can emerge in atomic Pd/Fe bilayers on the Rh(111) surface. Based on density functional theory we calculate the exchange and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction as well as the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy. The latter two terms are driven by spin-orbit coupling and significantly reduced compared to Pd/Fe bilayers on Ir(111) as expected since Rh and Ir are isoelectronic and transition metals. However, there is still a spin spiral ground state at zero magnetic field. Atomistic spin dynamics simulations show that a skyrmion phase occurs at small magnetic fields of T. Skyrmion diameters amount to 2–8 nm and skyrmion lifetimes are up to 1 h at temperatures of 25–45 K.
- Received 16 June 2018
- Revised 2 August 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.060413
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