2013/02/09 by Satoru Emori, Uwe Bauer, Sung-Min Ahn +4 · 1,828 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Chiral symmetry breaking #Chirality (physics) #Condensed matter physics #Ferromagnetism #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic domain #Magnetic field #Magnetic properties of thin films #Magnetization #Materials science #Multiferroics and related materials #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Skyrmion #Spin (aerodynamics) #Spintronics #Symmetry breaking #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nmat3675
published in Nature Materials 12(7), 611-616 (Nature Portfolio)
arxiv created 2013/02/09 · openalex publication_date 2013/06/14 · arxiv updated 2016/01/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
In most ferromagnets the magnetization rotates from one domain to the next with no preferred handedness. However, broken inversion symmetry can lift the chiral degeneracy, leading to topologically-rich spin textures such as spin-spirals and skyrmions via the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). Here we show that in ultrathin metallic ferromagnets sandwiched between a heavy metal and an oxide, the DMI stabilizes chiral domain walls (DWs) whose spin texture enables extremely efficient current-driven motion. We show that spin torque from the spin Hall effect drives DWs in opposite directions in Pt/CoFe/MgO and Ta/CoFe/MgO, which can be explained only if the DWs assume a Néel configuration with left-handed chirality. We directly confirm the DW chirality and rigidity by examining current-driven DW dynamics with magnetic fields applied perpendicular and parallel to the spin spiral. This work resolves the origin of controversial experimental results and highlights a new path towards interfacial design of spintronic devices.