Progress and challenges in magnetic skyrmionics

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are two-dimensional localized topological spin-structures characterized by the skyrmion number that measures the number of times of spins wrapping the Bloch sphere. Skyrmions behave like particles under an external stimulus and are promising information carriers. Skyrmions can exist as an isolated object as well as skyrmion condensates in crystal structures, helical/conical states, mazes or irregular stripy states with emergent electromagnetic fields. Thus, skyrmions provide a nice platform for studying fundamental physics, other than its applications in spintronics. In this perspective, we briefly review some recent progress in the field and present an outlook of the fundamental challenges in device applications.