Skyrmions in the Moire of van der Waals 2D Magnets

摘要

We explore the skyrmion formation and control possibilities in two-dimensional (2D) magnets from the ubiquitous moire pattern in vdW heterostructures. Using the example of a ferromagnetic monolayer on an antiferromagnetic substrate, we demonstrate a new origin of skyrmions in the 2D magnets from the lateral modulation of interlayer magnetic coupling by the locally different atomic registries in moire. The moire skyrmions are doubly degenerate with opposite topological charge and trapped at an ordered array of sites with the moire periodicity that can be dramatically tuned by strain and interlayer translation. At relatively strong interlayer coupling, the ground states are skyrmion lattices, where magnetic field can switch the skyrmion vorticity and location in the moire. At weak interlayer coupling limit, we find metastable skyrmion excitations on the ferromagnetic ground state that can be deterministically moved between the ordered moire trapping sites by current pulses. Our results point to potential uses of moire skyrmions both as information carriers and as drastically tunable topological background of electron transport.