Speaker
Description
Skyrmions are topologically protected nanometer-sized magnetic vortices interesting for spintronics applications. Current challenges lie in the discovery and synthesis of materials with high critical temperatures ($T_c$) and their implementation in thin-film technology. Here we present an approach for strain-free epitaxial thin-film growth of near-room temperature skyrmion-hosting material Co$_{10-x}$Zn$_{10-y}$Mn$_{x+y}$. $T_c$ can be systematically tuned beyond room temperature by adjusting Co:Zn:Mn composition. We use graphene grown on Si as an underlying substrate for molecular beam epitaxy. Graphene allows us to exploit van der Waals interaction for strain-free growth. We report on the structural, compositional and magnetic properties of Co$_{10-x}$Zn$_{10-y}$Mn$_{x+y}$ ($1 < x, y < 3$) thin films. This growth technique opens a new route for integrating skyrmionic device concepts with silicon electronics.
