Bring Skyrmions Back on Track

Skyrmions, topologically protected bubbles of magnetization are envisioned as next generation data carriers. For this purpose, their generation, motion and annihilation need to be controlled in a reliable manner. In this work we first produce and experimentally scrutinize magnetic thin films to find a suitable skyrmion host system. Then we engineer these skyrmion hosting films, employing focused ion beam irradiation, to initiate skyrmion nucleation and guide their current driven motion.