Discovery of Topological Magnetic Textures near Room Temperature in Quantum Magnet TbMn6 Sn6

Adv Mater. 2023 May;35(20):e2211164. doi: 10.1002/adma.202211164. Epub 2023 Mar 29.

Abstract

The study of topology in quantum materials has fundamentally advanced the understanding in condensed matter physics and potential applications in next-generation quantum information technology. Recently, the discovery of a topological Chern phase in the spin-orbit-coupled Kagome lattice TbMn6 Sn6 has attracted considerable interest. Whereas these phenomena highlight the contribution of momentum space Berry curvature and Chern gap on the electronic transport properties, less is known about the intrinsic real space magnetic texture, which is crucial for understanding the electronic properties and further exploring the unique quantum behavior. Here, the stabilization of topological magnetic skyrmions in TbMn6 Sn6 using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy near room temperature, where the spins experience full spin reorientation transition between the a- and c-axes, is directly observed. An effective spin Hamiltonian based on the Ginzburg-Landau theory is constructed and micromagnetic simulation is performed to clarify the critical role of Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction on the stabilization of skyrmion lattice. These results not only uncover nontrivial spin topological texture in TbMn6 Sn6 , but also provide a solid basis to study its interplay with electronic topology.

Keywords: Kagome lattice; Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction; quantum magnet TbMn 6Sn 6; topological Hall conductivity; topological skyrmion.