Stabilization of nanoscale magnetic bubbles in zero magnetic field by rotatable magnetic force microscopy

Min Zhang; Zihao Li; Muhammad Touqeer; Shuai Dong; Kesen Zhao; Aile Wang; Ze Wang; Jing Zhang; Jihao Wang; Wenjie Meng; Qiyuan Feng; Yalin Lu; Yubin Hou; Qingyou Lu

doi:10.1016/j.micron.2024.103777

Stabilization of nanoscale magnetic bubbles in zero magnetic field by rotatable magnetic force microscopy

Micron. 2024 Dec 22:190:103777. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2024.103777. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Min Zhang¹, Zihao Li², Muhammad Touqeer¹, Shuai Dong¹, Kesen Zhao¹, Aile Wang², Ze Wang³, Jing Zhang³, Jihao Wang³, Wenjie Meng⁴, Qiyuan Feng³, Yalin Lu⁵, Yubin Hou⁶, Qingyou Lu⁷

Affiliations

¹ University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Anhui Key Laboratory of Low-Energy Quantum Materials and Devices, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
² University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
³ Anhui Key Laboratory of Low-Energy Quantum Materials and Devices, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei 230031, China.
⁴ Anhui Key Laboratory of Low-Energy Quantum Materials and Devices, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei 230031, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Anhui Laboratory of Advanced Photon Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
⁶ Anhui Key Laboratory of Low-Energy Quantum Materials and Devices, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei 230031, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Anhui Key Laboratory of Low-Energy Quantum Materials and Devices, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei 230031, China; Anhui Laboratory of Advanced Photon Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39721121
DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2024.103777

Abstract

The Stabilization of bubble magnetic textures in zero magnetic field has garnered significant attention due to its potential application in spintronic devices. Herein, we employed a home-built rotatable magnetic force microscopy (MFM) to observe the evolution of magnetic domains in NiO/Ni/Ti thin films. Magnetic stripe domains decay into isolated magnetic bubbles under an out-of-plane magnetic field at 100 K, and magnetic stripes reappear when the external magnetic field is reduced to zero. By rotating the sample within an external magnetic field of 0.42 T, the magnetic stripes transform into nanoscale magnetic bubble domains. This transition is driven by the minimization of the magnetostatic energy, accompanied by an increase in both the exchange energy and the Zeeman energy. The classical ferromagnetic Heisenberg model effectively describes the magnetic stripe-to-bubble transition under an applied magnetic field. The dense bubble domains remain stable in zero magnetic field due to long-range magnetostatic interaction. We introduce a straightforward method for constructing bubble domains in a zero magnetic field. This work presents a promising material platform for the future development of bubble-based spintronic devices.

Keywords: In-situ; Magnetic bubbles; Magnetic force microscopy; Real-space; Skyrmion.