The influence of film thickness and uniaxial anisotropy on in-plane skyrmions: Numerical investigations of the phase space of chiral magnets

Abstract

The equilibrium phase space of magnetic textures in thin-films of cubic chiral ferromagnets, including skyrmions, is explored as a function of in-plane magnetic field strength, film thickness and uniaxial anisotropy. The interplay between these system parameters is found to give rise to a phase space with a rich structure, distinct from that of the nano-stripes that have been previously studied. For certain values of the anisotropy, the range of thicknesses supporting in-plane skyrmions and/or helicoids with an out-of-plane propagation vector is found to be disconnected, suggesting a possible direction for future experiments. We explain how this interesting phase space topology arises due to the geometric confinement of the thin-film system, and identify the optimal parameter ranges for future explorations of novel magnetic textures such as the oblique spiral phase.