THE in Pt/TmIG

Centrosymmetric magnetic insulators do not have bulk Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), which is required to stabilize the chiral spin textures, such as skyrmions. We delicately introduce an interfacial DMI in a heterostructure composed of a centrosymmetric magnetic insulator (Tm3Fe5O12 or TmIG) and a heavy metal (Pt). This interfacial DMI stablizes chiral spin textures and leads to the observation of topological Hall effect, which is a signature of skyrmions. This observation may provide a high-temperature skyrmionic platform for future low-power spintronic device applications.

This work has been published in Nature Electronics. It is also highlighted by a news and views article in the same issue.