Interlayer exchange coupling -- a general scheme turning chiral magnets into magnetic multilayers carrying atomic-scale skyrmions

Abstract

We report on a general principle using the interlayer exchange coupling to extend the regime of chiral magnetic films in which stable or metastable magnetic skyrmions can appear at zero magnetic field. We verify this concept on the basis of a first-principles model for a Mn monolayer on W(001) substrate, a prototype chiral magnet for which the atomic-scale magnetic texture is determined by the frustration of exchange interactions, impossible to unwind by laboratory magnetic fields. By means of \textit{ab initio} calculations for the Mn/W$_m$/Co$_n$/Pt/W(001) multilayer system we show that for certain thicknesses $m$ of the W spacer and $n$ of the Co reference layer, the effective field of the reference layer fully substitutes the required magnetic field for skyrmion formation.