Magnetization textures that are stabilized by topological constraints, such as skyrmions and chiral bobbers, as well as the emergent electrodynamics associated with their motion, provide a promising ...avenue toward novel energy-efficient nanomagnetic devices. Here, it is shown that exchange-spring-type heterostructures, where soft ferromagnets with azimuthal symmetry are exchange-coupled to a ferromagnetic layer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, can be used for the creation and control of skyrmion tubes and Bloch points during magnetization reversal of the soft ferromagnet, where the rapid motion of the Bloch points induces an emergent electric field with a magnitude of the order of megavolts per meter. The exchange coupling to the hard ferromagnet restores the system to its original configuration, making the process fully reversible and repeatable, and the duration of the magnetization processes and the motion of the Bloch points can be tuned by adjusting the size of the ferromagnet. Based on these numerical predictions, it is proposed that exchange-spring heterostructures could be used to generate picosecond electromagnetic pulses.
This paper predicts that individual Bloch points, topological point defects with vanishing local magnetization, can be created and stabilized by magnetostatic and chiral interactions in nanocuboids, ...confined in between two chiral bobbers of opposing polarity. The Bloch point can be moved by an external magnetic field of moderate strength but only if the field strength is enough to overcome a pinning potential that results from intrinsic exchange forces and extrinsic surface effects. The Bloch point can be driven by the external field reversibly, in a direction opposing the field, and it remains stable up to moderate field strengths. At a critical field strength the Bloch point escapes through one of the surfaces, leaving behind a collinear magnetization configuration, and upon removing the field a new Bloch point is formed. These findings highlight the topological diversity in nanostructures and show that a Bloch point, despite its zero dimensionality, couples to external fields via a substantial magnetic volume around it. The control of topological point defects has technological implications with regards to reversibly movable nanomagnetic textures and their associated emergent electrodynamics.
Magnetoelasticity is the bond between magnetism and mechanics, but the intricate mechanisms via which magnetic states change due to mechanical strain remain poorly understood. Here, we provide direct ...nanoscale observations of how tensile strain modifies magnetic domains in a ferromagnetic Ni thin plate using in situ Fresnel defocus imaging, off-axis electron holography and a bimetallic deformation device. We present quantitative measurements of magnetic domain wall structure and its transformations as a function of strain. We observe the formation and dissociation of strain-induced periodic 180° magnetic domain walls perpendicular to the strain axis. The magnetization transformation exhibits stress-determined directional sensitivity and is reversible and tunable through the size of the nanostructure. In this work, we provide direct evidence for expressive and deterministic magnetic hardening in ferromagnetic nanostructures, while our experimental approach allows quantifiable local measurements of strain-induced changes in the magnetic states of nanomaterials.
Magnetic stability of iron mineral phases is a key for their use as paleomagnetic information carrier and their applications in nanotechnology, and it critically depends on the size of the particles ...and their texture. Ferrimagnetic greigite (Fe
S
) in nature and synthesized in the laboratory forms almost exclusively polycrystalline particles. Textural effects of inter-grown, nano-sized crystallites on the macroscopic magnetization remain unresolved because their experimental detection is challenging. Here, we use ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy and static magnetization measurements in concert with micromagnetic simulations to detect and explain textural effects on the magnetic stability in synthetic, polycrystalline greigite flakes. We demonstrate that these effects stem from inter-grown crystallites with mean coherence length (MCL) of about 20 nm in single-domain magnetic state, which generate modifiable coherent magnetization volume (CMV) configurations in the flakes. At room temperature, the instability of the CVM configuration is exhibited by the angular dependence of the FMR spectra in fields of less than 100 mT and its reset by stronger fields. This finding highlights the magnetic manipulation of polycrystalline greigite, which is a novel trait to detect this mineral phase in Earth systems and to assess its fidelity as paleomagnetic information carrier. Additionally, our magneto-spectroscopic approach to analyse instable CMV opens the door for a new more rigorous magnetic assessment and interpretation of polycrystalline nano-materials.
Abstract
Some of the best-performing high-temperature magnets are Sm–Co-based alloys with a microstructure that comprises an
$$\hbox {Sm}_2\hbox {Co}_{17}$$
Sm
2
Co
17
matrix and magnetically hard
...$$\hbox {SmCo}_5$$
SmCo
5
cell walls. This generates a dense domain-wall-pinning network that endows the material with remarkable magnetic hardness. A precise understanding of the coupling between magnetism and microstructure is essential for enhancing the performance of Sm–Co magnets, but experiments and theory have not yet converged to a unified model. Here, transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography, and nanometer-resolution off-axis electron holography have been combined with micromagnetic simulations to reveal that the magnetization state in Sm–Co magnets results from curling instabilities and domain-wall pinning effects at the intersections of phases with different magnetic hardness. Additionally, this study has found that topologically non-trivial magnetic domains separated by a complex network of domain walls play a key role in the magnetic state by acting as nucleation sites for magnetization reversal. These findings reveal previously hidden aspects of magnetism in Sm–Co magnets and, by identifying weak points in the microstructure, provide guidelines for improving these high-performance magnetic materials.
An important characteristic of magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) is the anisotropy of one-dimensionally aligned magnetite particles. This paper introduces the use of ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy ...(FMR) at two different frequencies to compare the anisotropic properties of magnetite chains of cultured intact MTB with those of lake sediments of Holocene age in order to detect magnetofossils and to characterize their preservation in a geological system. Magnetite chains of intact MTB exhibit a predominantly uniaxial anisotropy. In the lake sediments, where diagenetic processes disintegrate the chains and diminish their uniaxiality, magnetite chains or chain fragments and dissociated bulk magnetite particles differ in their anisotropy properties. The two groups of assembly can be distinguished by empirical spectral separation of the FMR signal. This straightforward use of the characteristics of magnetic anisotropy provides a way to detect magnetofossils experimentally, thus allowing a better insight into microbial ecology during Earth's history.
►Anisotropy reveals magnetofossils as remains of magnetotactic bacteria. ►FMR spectroscopy enables detection of anisotropy. ►Empirical spectral separation detects magnetofossils. ►Magnetofossils are crucial bacterial evidence in geological systems.
Skyrmionic textures are being extensively investigated due to the occurrence of novel topological magnetic phenomena, and their promising applications in a new generation of spintronic devices take ...advantage of the robust topological stability of their spin structures. The development of practical devices relies on a detailed understanding of how skyrmionic structures can be formed, transferred, detected, and annihilated. In this work our considerations go beyond static skyrmions and theoretically show that the formation/annihilation of both skyrmions and antiskyrmions is enabled by the transient creation and propagation of topological singularities (magnetic monopolelike Bloch points). Critically, our results predict that during the winding/unwinding of skyrmionic textures, the Bloch-point propagation will give rise to an emergent electric field with a substantial amplitude and in the terahertz frequency range. We also demonstrate ways for controlling Bloch-point dynamics, which directly enable the tunablility on generation of this signal, as well as its frequency and amplitude. Our studies provide a concept of directly exploiting topological singularities for terahertz skyrmion-based electronic devices.
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