Writing and Deleting Single Magnetic Skyrmions

Abstract

Controlling Skyrmions Magnetic skyrmions—tiny vortex patterns of spins—hold promise for information storage because of their robustness to perturbations. Skyrmions have been observed experimentally, but manipulating them individually remains a challenge. Romming et al. (p. 636 ; see the cover) used spin-polarized electrons generated by a scanning tunneling microscope to reversibly create and destroy skyrmions in a thin iron film covered by a layer of palladium. The energy of the tunneling electrons was the decisive factor determining the probability of the process; atomic defects in the film acted as pinning sites for the skyrmions. The work demonstrates the feasibility of using spin-polarized tunnel currents for the controlled manipulation of individual skyrmions.