Dynamics of chiral state transitions and relaxations in an FeGe thin plate via in situ Lorentz microscopy

Nanoscale. 2020 Jul 16;12(27):14919-14925. doi: 10.1039/d0nr03278f.

Abstract

Studying the magnetic transition between different topological spin textures in noncentrosymmetric magnets under external stimuli is an important topic in chiral magnetism. Here, using in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) we directly visualize the thermal-driven magnetic transitions and dynamic characteristics in FeGe thin plates. A novel protocol-dependent phase diagram of FeGe thin plates was obtained via pulsed laser excitation. Moreover, by setting the appropriate specimen temperature, the relaxation of chiral magnetic states in FeGe specimens was recorded and analyzed with an Arrhenius-type relaxation mechanism. We present the field-dependent activation energy barriers for chiral state transitions and the magnetic transition pathways of these spin textures for FeGe thin plates. Our results unveil the effects of thermal excitation on the topological spin texture transitions and provide useful information about magnetic dynamics of chiral magnetic state relaxation.