Electrically switchable Rashba-type Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and skyrmion in two-dimensional magnetoelectric multiferroics

Abstract

Realizing topological magnetism and its electric control are intensive topics in spintronics due to their promising applications in information storage and logic technologies. Here, we unveil that both can be achieved in two-dimensional (2D) magnetoelectric multiferroics. Using first-principles calculations, we show that a strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), which is the key ingredient for the formation of exotic chiral magnetism, could be induced in 2D multiferroics with vertical electric polarization via the Rashba effect. We verify that such a significant DMI can promote the stabilization of sub-10-nm skyrmions in 2D multiferroics with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy such as a CrN monolayer. In addition, the presence of both magnetization and electric polarization in 2D multiferroics provides us with the unique opportunity for the effective electric control of both the strength and chirality of the DMI and thereby the topological magnetism. As an example, we introduce four multiferroic skyrmions with different chiralities and polarities that can be manipulated by an external field.