Strain Engineering of Magnetic Anisotropy in the Kagome Magnet Fe<sub>3</sub>Sn<sub>2</sub>
The ability to control magnetism with strain offers innovative pathways for the modulation of magnetic domain configurations and for the manipulation of magnetic states in materials on the nanoscale. Although the effect of strain on magnetic domains has been recognized since the early work of C. Kittel, detailed local observations have been elusive. Here, we use mechanical strain to achieve reversible control of magnetic textures in a kagome-type Fe<sub>3</sub>Sn<sub>2</sub> ferromagnet without the use of an external electric current or magnetic field in situ in a transmission electron microscope at room temperature. We use Fresnel defocus imaging, off-axis electron holography and micromagnetic simulations to show that tensile strain modifies the structures of dipolar skyrmions and switches the magnetization between out-of-plane and in-plane configurations. We also present quantitative measurements of magnetic domain wall structures and their transformations as a function of strain. Our results demonstrate the fundamental importance of anisotropy effects and their interplay with magnetoelastic and magnetocrystalline energies, providing opportunities for the development of strain-controlled devices for spintronic applications.
Authors
- Michalis Charilaou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1072-1701)
- V. Tsurkan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6001-3151)
- L. Prodan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2250-8249)
- Dennis Meier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8623-6705)
- Markus Altthaler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2047-716X)
- András Kovács (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8485-991X)
- I. Kézsmárki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4706-3247)
- Rafal E. Dunin–Borkowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8082-0647)
- Xiaodong Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0193-1291)
- Deli Kong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3604-7367)
Institutions
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- University of Augsburg (DE)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
- Ernst Ruska Centre (DE)
- Moldova State University (MD)
- Southern University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- Spintronics Research Network of Japan (JP)
- Institute of Applied Physics (MD)
- HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research (HU)
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Nano
- Published
- 2025-02-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c16603
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 11.22
Funders
- Agenția Națională pentru Cercetare și Dezvoltare
- European Commission
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Norges Forskningsråd
- Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- H2020 European Research Council