Controllable skyrmion chirality in ferroelectrics
Yuri Tikhonov, Svitlana Kondovych, John Mangeri, Maksim Pavlenko, L. Baudry, Anaïs Sené, Alexey Galda, Serge Nakhmanson, Olle Heinonen, A. G. Razumnaya, Igor Lukyanchuk, V. M. Vinokur
Abstract
Chirality, an intrinsic handedness, is one of the most intriguing fundamental phenomena in nature. Materials composed of chiral molecules find broad applications in areas ranging from nonlinear optics and spintronics to biology and pharmaceuticals. However, chirality is usually an invariable inherent property of a given material that cannot be easily changed at will. Here, we demonstrate that ferroelectric nanodots support skyrmions the chirality of which can be controlled and switched. We devise protocols for realizing control and efficient manipulations of the different types of skyrmions. Our findings open the route for controlled chirality with potential applications in ferroelectric-based information technologies.