Abstract
Chiral magnets are a promising route towards dense magnetic storage technology due to their inherent nano-scale dimensions and energy efficient properties. Engineering chiral magnets requires atomic-level control of the magnetic exchange interactions, including the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, which defines a rotational sense for the magnetization of two coupled magnetic moments. Here we show that the indirect conduction electron-mediated Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction between two individual magnetic atoms on a metallic surface can be manipulated by changing the interatomic distance with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope. We quantify this interaction by comparing our measurements to a quantum magnetic model and ab-initio calculations yielding a map of the chiral ground states of pairs of atoms depending on the interatomic separation. The map enables tailoring the chirality of the magnetization in dilute atomic-scale magnets.
Highlights
Chiral magnets are a promising route towards dense magnetic storage technology due to their inherent nano-scale dimensions and energy efficient properties
We show that the indirect conduction electron-mediated Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction between two individual magnetic atoms on a metallic surface can be manipulated by changing the interatomic distance with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope
It decomposes into an isotropic Heisenberg exchange interaction term (J), which takes into account the usual RKKY-like exchange that favours collinear orientations, a Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) term (D), which favours non-collinear spin orientations, a single spin magnetic anisotropy term (Ki), which locks each spin in a given orientation resulting from the interaction with the crystal field, and a Zeeman term, which considers the response of each spin to a magnetic field B as determined by the g-factors gi and the Bohr magneton mB
Summary
Chiral magnets are a promising route towards dense magnetic storage technology due to their inherent nano-scale dimensions and energy efficient properties. We show that the indirect conduction electron-mediated Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction between two individual magnetic atoms on a metallic surface can be manipulated by changing the interatomic distance with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope We quantify this interaction by comparing our measurements to a quantum magnetic model and ab-initio calculations yielding a map of the chiral ground states of pairs of atoms depending on the interatomic separation. The DMI interaction has been studied to a large extent for bulk[5] or thin-film systems[9,18], little is known experimentally about how the indirect conduction electron-mediated DMI emerges between individual atoms, as originally proposed by Smith[15,16] Central to this understanding are methods that can interrogate exchange interactions[19] with ultimate spatial resolution on surfaces[17]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
