Customized spin spirals in ferromagnetic thin films
Abstract
The advancement of spintronic nanoscale devices hinges on the ability to flexibly engineer magnetic spin structures in thin-film stacks with precision and control. Meeting this demand remains a challenge for stable non-collinear spin configurations and, more specifically, vertical spin spirals in thin films. Innovative methods are required for their fabrication, stabilization and control. Here, we use oblique-incidence deposition to design and stabilize vertical spin spirals at room temperature and without an external field in magnetic thin films. We induce two crossed uniaxial magnetic anisotropies at the thin film boundaries. These anisotropies are tunable in direction and strength, thus providing control over the angular range and depth profile of the resulting spin spiral. The combination of polarized neutron reflectometry and nuclear resonant scattering enables precise and direct determination of the depth-dependent spin configurations. Our results establish a single-film design approach, in which the surface anisotropies independently serve as controllable design parameters for tailoring the vertical spin-spiral profile. Potential applications include nanoscale energy-storage devices, magnetic sensors, and ferromagnetic-resonance filters, advancing all-spin-based device engineering in general.
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BibTeX
@misc{panchwanee2026customized,
title = {{Customized spin spirals in ferromagnetic thin films}},
author = {Anjali Panchwanee and Kai Schlage and Dieter Lott and Sven Velten and Thomas Saerbeck and David L. Cortie and Sakshath Sadashivaiah and Ilya Sergeev and Guido Meier and Lars Bocklage and Ralf Röhlsberger},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.05383},
eprint = {2609.05383},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05383},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Customized spin spirals in ferromagnetic thin films
AU - Anjali Panchwanee
AU - Kai Schlage
AU - Dieter Lott
AU - Sven Velten
AU - Thomas Saerbeck
AU - David L. Cortie
AU - Sakshath Sadashivaiah
AU - Ilya Sergeev
AU - Guido Meier
AU - Lars Bocklage
AU - Ralf Röhlsberger
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.05383
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05383
AB - The advancement of spintronic nanoscale devices hinges on the ability to flexibly engineer magnetic spin structures in thin-film stacks with precision and control. Meeting this demand remains a challenge for stable non-collinear spin configurations and, more specifically, vertical spin spirals in thin films. Innovative methods are required for their fabrication, stabilization and control. Here, we use oblique-incidence deposition to design and stabilize vertical spin spirals at room temperature and without an external field in magnetic thin films. We induce two crossed uniaxial magnetic anisotropies at the thin film boundaries. These anisotropies are tunable in direction and strength, thus providing control over the angular range and depth profile of the resulting spin spiral. The combination of polarized neutron reflectometry and nuclear resonant scattering enables precise and direct determination of the depth-dependent spin configurations. Our results establish a single-film design approach, in which the surface anisotropies independently serve as controllable design parameters for tailoring the vertical spin-spiral profile. Potential applications include nanoscale energy-storage devices, magnetic sensors, and ferromagnetic-resonance filters, advancing all-spin-based device engineering in general.
ER -