Electron Holography and Magnetotransport Measurements Reveal Stabilized Magnetic Skyrmions in Fe_{1- x}Co_xSi Nanowires

Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures that have shown promise for future nonvolatile memory devices. Herein, we report on the stability of magnetic skyrmions in alloyed cubic B20 Fe_1-xCo_xSi nanowires (NWs) determined using off-axis electron holography and magnetotransport measurements. This study presents the real space observation of one-dimensional skyrmion lattice in a NW of Fe_1-xCo_xSi which shows that the skyrmion phase in a Fe_0.75Co_0.25Si NW exists at lower applied magnetic fields (200 Oe) with a reduced domain size (28 ± 2 nm) in comparison to bulk and thin film samples. Magnetotransport measurements were used to observe the helimagnetic transition temperature dependence on the cobalt concentration in the Fe_1-xCo_xSi NWs. Field-dependent magnetoresistance measurements of Fe_1-xCo_xSi NWs under applied magnetic field parallel to the NW axis and their second derivative plots reveal the critical fields for the magnetic state transition at different temperatures. A representative magnetic phase diagram constructed with the results from transport measurements of a Fe_0.81Co_0.19Si NW clearly shows expanded stability region for magnetic skyrmions in the Fe_1-xCo_xSi NWs.