Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: The switching between topologically distinct skyrmionic and ferromagnetic states has been proposed as a bit operation for information storage. While long lifetimes of the bits are required for data storage devices, the lifetimes of skyrmions have not been addressed so far. Here we show by means of atomistic Monte Carlo simulations that the field-dependent mean lifetimes of the skyrmionic and ferromagnetic states have a high asymmetry with respect to the critical magnetic field, at which these lifetimes are identical. According to our calculations, the main reason for the enhanced stability of skyrmions is a different field dependence of skyrmionic and ferromagnetic activation energies and a lower attempt frequency of skyrmions rather than the height of energy barriers. We use this knowledge to propose a procedure for the determination of effective material parameters and the quantification of the Monte Carlo timescale from the comparison of theoretical and experimental data.
Source: Nature Communications
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9455
Institution: Universität Hamburg
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Award: G5079777563
OpenAlex ID: W2213638251