A crystal does not have to be made of atoms. In ultrathin magnetic materials, tiny whirlpools of magnetism known as skyrmions can arrange themselves into orderly, crystal-like patterns, and those patterns may hold clues to a new generation of computing.
Skyrmions are remarkably small and stable, yet they can also be moved and manipulated. Those properties have made them promising candidates for storing and processing information with far less space and energy than many conventional technologies require.
Now, researchers have watched a skyrmion crystal lose its order in real time. In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology, the team filmed an orderly skyrmion lattice as it became increasingly disorganized while simultaneously manipulating individual skyrmions, providing a rare window into how order breaks down in a two-dimensional magnetic system.
Most of the research was conducted at the Institute of Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, with contributions from a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
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