Controlling Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in the skyrmion host candidates FePd1−xPtxMo3N

Abstract

Ferromagnets crystallizing in structures described by chiral cubic space groups, including compounds with the B20 or $\beta$-Mn structures, are known to host long-period chiral spin textures such as skyrmion lattices. These spin textures are stabilized by a competition between ferromagnetic exchange and antisymmetric Dyzaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) exchange, which is enhanced by the spin-orbit coupling associated with high-atomic-number elements. For real-world application, it is desirable to find materials that can host compact skyrmion lattices at readily accessible temperatures. Here, we report on the crystal chemistry and magnetic phase diagrams of a family of compounds with the filled $\beta$-Mn structure, FePd$_{1-x}$Pt$_x$Mo$_3$N with $T_C$ ranging from 175 K to 240 K. DC and AC magnetization measurements reveal magnetic phase diagrams consistent with the formation of a skyrmion pocket just below $T_C$. The magnitudes of ferromagnetic and DM exchanges are determined from the phase diagrams, demonstrating that the introduction of increasing amounts of Pt can be used to increase spin-orbit coupling in order to control the expected skyrmion lattice parameter between 140 nm and 65 nm while simultaneously increasing $T_C$.