"Three-dimensional skyrmions are of interest for quantum computing and brain-inspired computing, among other things - here the higher storage density resulting from the third dimension is essential," explained Mona Bhukta of the Klaui Lab. The breakthrough, published in Nature Communications on September 26, shows that the motion of skyrmion tubes in synthetic antiferromagnets can encode information in entirely new ways.
Skyrmions behave like particles that can be driven by electric currents. While previous 3D versions exhibited uniform chirality and mirrored 2D motion, the Mainz team engineered unevenly twisted skyrmion tubes using standard thin-film deposition techniques. This structural asymmetry causes distinct, non-reciprocal motion - offering a fresh mechanism for encoding and manipulating data across multiple layers, effectively introducing a "third dimension" to data storage.
The researchers verified the three-dimensional structure at the Julich Research Center and investigated their dynamics using synchrotron sources at BESSY II (Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy) and the Swiss Light Source (Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland).
According to Bhukta, these hybrid skyrmion tubes not only enable new data storage paradigms but also align with the goals of brain-inspired computing, where information is processed through neuron-like and synaptic architectures. "Three-dimensional skyrmions allow us to better mimic neurons," she said. "The step into the third dimension is also essential in quantum computing."
Research Report:Observation of a non-reciprocal skyrmion Hall effect of hybrid chiral skyrmion tubes in synthetic antiferromagnetic multilayers
Related Links
Klaeui Lab University Mainz
Space Technology News - Applications and Research
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