Chinese researchers have developed the world's smallest skyrmion racetrack, paving the way for future high-density and high-speed storage technology.

Skyrmion is a special magnetic structure known for its small size, high stability, and ease of current manipulation.

Scientists first discovered the structure in certain metallic magnetic materials in 2009. Skyrmions are considered ideal carriers for next-generation data storage. However, stabilizing and controllably moving skyrmions in nanoscale racetracks has been a longstanding challenge.

Using advanced focused ion beam technology, the research team, led by Professors Du Haifeng and Song Dongsheng at Anhui University, unveiled the motion of individual 80 nm-size skyrmions in a FeGe track with an ultrathin width of 100 nanometers with Focused Ion beam technology and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

This research addresses two key challenges: reducing device feature sizes to 100 nanometers, smaller than previously demonstrated, meeting the demands of high-density storage; and stabilizing skyrmion motion by controlling the width and density of current pulses, thereby preventing skyrmions from deviating or disappearing at track boundaries.

The research findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications. The team's achievements lay the foundation for developing novel magnetoelectronic devices that may be used in faster and more reliable data storage and processing technologies in the future.