Shaken, not stirred: Reshuffling skyrmions ultrafast

Scientists of Max Born Institute together with colleagues from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and further research institutions now investigated in detail how laser-based creation and annihilation of skyrmions can be controlled to promote application of the process in devices. To image the magnetic skyrmions, the team of researchers used holography-based x-ray microscopy, which can make the tiny magnetization swirls with a diameter of 100 nanometer and less visible.