X-ray holographic imaging of magnetic surface spirals in FeGe lamellae

Turnbull, L.A.; Littlehales, M.T.; Wilson, M.N.; Birch, M.T.; Popescu, H.; Jaouen, N.; Verezhak, J.A.T.; Balakrishnan, G.; Hatton, P.D.

doi:10.1103/physrevb.106.064422

X-ray holographic imaging of magnetic surface spirals in FeGe lamellae

Turnbull, L.A.; Littlehales, M.T.; Wilson, M.N.; Birch, M.T.; Popescu, H.; Jaouen, N.; Verezhak, J.A.T.; Balakrishnan, G.; Hatton, P.D.

Authors

Luke Turnbull l.a.turnbull@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy

Matt Littlehales matthew.t.littlehales@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy

M.N. Wilson

M.T. Birch

H. Popescu

N. Jaouen

J.A.T. Verezhak

G. Balakrishnan

Professor Peter Hatton p.d.hatton@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Isotropic helimagnets are known to host a diverse range of chiral magnetic states. In 2016, Rybakov et al., theorized the presence of a surface-pinned stacked spin spiral phase [F. N. Rybakov et al., New J. Phys. 18, 045002 (2016)], which has yet to be observed experimentally. The phase is characterized by surface spiral periods exceeding the host material's fundamental winding period L D . Here, we present experimental evidence for the observation of this state in lamellae of FeGe using resonant x-ray holographic imaging data and micromagnetic simulations. We find images of FeGe lamellae, exceeding a critical thickness of 300 nm ( 4.3 L D ), exhibit contrast modulations with a field-dependent periodicity of λ ≥ 1.4 L D , consistent with theoretical predictions of the stacked spiral state. The identification of this spiral state has significant implications for the stability of other coexisting spin textures, and will help complete our understanding of helimagnetic systems.

Citation

Turnbull, L., Littlehales, M., Wilson, M., Birch, M., Popescu, H., Jaouen, N., …Hatton, P. (2022). X-ray holographic imaging of magnetic surface spirals in FeGe lamellae. Physical Review B, 106(6), Article 064422. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.106.064422

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 28, 2022
Online Publication Date	Aug 15, 2022
Publication Date	Aug 1, 2022
Deposit Date	Nov 29, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Nov 29, 2022
Journal	Physical Review B
Print ISSN	2469-9950
Electronic ISSN	2469-9969
Publisher	American Physical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	106
Issue	6
Article Number	064422
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.106.064422

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Copyright Statement
Reprinted with permission from the American Physical Society: Turnbull, L. A., Littlehales, M. T., Wilson, M. N., Birch, M. T., Popescu, H., Jaouen, N., Verezhak, J. A. T., Balakrishnan, G. & Hatton, P. D. (2022). X-ray holographic imaging of magnetic surface spirals in FeGe lamellae. Physical Review B 106(6): 064422. © (2022) by the American Physical Society. Readers may view, browse, and/or download material for temporary copying purposes only, provided these uses are for noncommercial personal purposes. Except as provided by law, this material may not be further reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, adapted, performed, displayed, published, or sold in whole or part, without prior written permission from the American Physical Society.