Researchers from the Solid State Physics Laboratory (LPS) (CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay) have highlighted a subtle magnetic interaction that imposes a preferred orientation on magnetic structures in the Fe₅GeTe₂ material. This interaction, essential for stabilizing chiral magnetic textures such as skyrmions, is present in the core of the material and makes Fe₅GeTe₂ a promising platform for next-generation spintronics.
Two-dimensional magnetic materials are attracting increasing interest for the development of new information processing and storage technologies. Among them, the Fe₅GeTe₂ compound stands out for its ferromagnetic properties even at near-ambient temperatures and its compatibility with spintronic architectures. However, one question remained: does this material possess a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DMI) interaction, a fundamental mechanism for stabilizing chiral magnetic textures such as skyrmions? These particularly robust, nanometric objects are being considered as information carriers in future low-power devices.
Researchers from the Solid State Physics Laboratory (CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay), in collaboration with the SPINTEC laboratory (CEA-CNRS-UGA), have provided a direct answer to this question. Using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy, they measured the magnetic interaction dynamic (MID) for the first time in epitaxially layered Fe₅GeTe₂ thin films.
The experiments revealed a clearly detectable MID interaction with the same sign across all thicknesses studied. Unlike what is observed in many systems where this interaction originates at interfaces, its intensity varies little with the material thickness. This result indicates that its origin is primarily linked to the internal structure of the crystal. The observations are consistent with a particular arrangement of certain iron atoms in the crystal lattice, capable of locally disrupting the material’s symmetries.
The study also highlights low magnetic dissipation, a property favorable to the efficient propagation of magnetic textures and spin waves. The combination of an intrinsic chiral interaction and low energy losses makes Fe₅GeTe₂ a particularly promising platform for studying skyrmion dynamics and developing future spintronic components.
Contributors:
João Sampaio, Antoine Pascaud, Edgar Quero, André Thiaville, and Alexandra Mougin, Solid State Physics Laboratory (LPS, CNRS / Université Paris-Saclay)
Vincent Polewczyk, Alain Marty, and Frédéric Bonell, SPINTEC (CEA / CNRS / Université Grenoble Alpes)
Funding:
French National Research Agency (ANR): ELMAX, NEXT, FLAG-ERA MNEMOSYN, ESR/EQUIPEX+ 2D-MAG;
PEPR SPIN (France 2030): SPINMAT and CHIREX;
LabEx LANEF.
Reference
João Sampaio, Antoine Pascaud, Edgar Quero, André Thiaville, Vincent Polewczyk, Alain Marty, Frédéric Bonell et Alexandra Mougin, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in Fe₅GeTe₂ Epitaxial Thin Films, Nano Letters (2025). DOI : 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c03547
Contact
João Sampaio, joao.sampaio@cnrs.fr