Antiferromagnetic skyrmion-based high speed diode

Abstract

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) skyrmions are favored over ferromagnetic (FM) skyrmions as they can be driven parallel to in-plane driving currents and eventually prevent the annihilation at the edges of nanotrack. In this study, an AFM skyrmion-based diode is proposed to realize the one-way skyrmion motion that is crucial for data processing in nanoelectronic and spintronic devices. The skyrmion transport is controlled by exploiting the staircase notch region in the middle of the nanotrack. By virtue of this, the micromagnetic interaction energy between the skyrmion and the notch edges generates a potential gradient that further gives rise to repulsive forces on the skyrmion. The resultant of the forces from the driving current and edge repulsions make the skyrmion move along the notch region to overcome the device window and reach the detection region. The notch is designed in such a way that it prevents the movement of the skyrmion in the reverse direction, thereby achieving diode functionality. The proposed device offers processing speed in the order of 103 m s−1, hence paving the way for the development of energy-efficient and high-speed devices in antiferromagnetic spintronics.