Discrete helicoidal states in chiral magnetic thin films

Abstract

Magnetoresistance (MR), polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR), and magnetometry measurements in MnSi thin films and rigorous analytical solutions of the micromagnetic equations show that the field-induced unwinding of confined helicoids occurs via discrete steps. A comparison between the theoretical results and the PNR and magnetometry data shows that finite-size effects confine the wavelength and lead to a quantization of the number of turns in the helicoid. We demonstrate that the magnetic state of these finite helicoids can be read by electrical means.