Microdynamic Study of Spin-Lattice Coupling Effects on Skyrmion Transport.

Abstract

Skyrmion transport fundamentally determines the speed, energy consumption, and functionality of skyrmion-based spintronic devices, attracting considerable attention. Recent experimental studies found there is a migration barrier for the thermal activated transport of a skyrmion, which is speculated to be induced by the pinning effects of crystalline defects. In this Letter, we propose an alternative source of migration barrier for skyrmion transport, i.e., a local lattice distortion field due to spin-lattice coupling, which can lead to the same Arrhenius diffusion behavior in defect-free skyrmion materials. By performing spin-lattice dynamics simulations, we study the microdynamic insight into the influence of local lattice distortion field, which refreshes the mechanistic understanding on skyrmion transport.