Flexoelectric control of magnetic textures in 2D oxide membranes

Freestanding layers of complex oxides are a completely new generation of 2D materials which exhibit a plethora of coupled responses and endow 2D materials with robust correlated groundstates.

In this project we explore the control of magnetism in a freestanding oxide driven by the coupling of its ferromagnetic groundstate to strain induced polar structures enabled by the freestanding form.Deterministic control of magnetic textures (namely skyrmions) is an exciting area of research for its potential to impact computing and information technology.

However, the metallic nature of most ferromagnetic materials renders the direct control by electric fields impractical due to screening by free carriers.

Developing approaches to direct electric control of ferromagnetism in a single material remains a virgin land to explore.FLEXOMAG aims at the use of strain induced flexoelectricity in a metallic oxide with strong spin orbit interaction (SrRuO3) to nucleate spin textures, skyrmions and skyrmion lattices.

Flexoelectricity enables the creation of a polar structure in the presence of strain gradients, and is expected to impact magnetic ordering via direct coupling of spins with a polar structure by spin-orbit coupling.

Moreover, strain gradients will act as effective electric field and would not suffer from the cancellation by screening due to free charges.

Flexoelectric control of magnetism is in itself an important breakthrough in fundamental science and it will further yield a completely novel strategy to tailor spin textures. We will use twistronics of 2D oxides to design skyrmion lattices never observed before in oxides.

Skyrmions and skyrmion lattices are acclaimed information vectors sought in the design of next generation magnetic memories. This research will supply a long sought technological platform to fabricate skyrmions by design.