title: Jointed magnetic skyrmion lattices at a small-angle grain boundary directly visualized by advanced electron microscopy.
abstract: The interactions between magnetic skyrmions and structural defects, such as edges, dislocations, and grain boundaries (GBs), which are all considered as topological defects, will be important issues when magnetic skyrmions are utilized for future memory device applications. To investigate such interactions, simultaneous visualization of magnetic skyrmions and structural defects at high spatial resolution, which is not feasible by conventional techniques, is essential. Here, taking advantages of aberration-corrected differential phase-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy, we investigate the interaction of magnetic skyrmions with a small-angle GB in a thin film of FeGe1-xSix. We found that the magnetic skyrmions and the small-angle GB can coexist each other, but a domain boundary (DB) was formed in the skyrmion lattice along the small-angle GB. At the core of the DB, unexpectedly deformed magnetic skrymions, which appear to be created by joining two portions of magnetic skyrmions in the adjacent lattices, were formed to effectively compensate misorientations between the two adjacent magnetic skyrmion lattices. These observations strongly suggest the flexible nature of individual magnetic skyrmions, and also the significance of defect engineering for future device applications.
authors: Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors: Takao
authors: T
authors: Matsumoto
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering and Resource Science, Akita University, 1-1 Tegata Gakuen-machi, Akita, Akita 010-8502, Japan.
authors: Yeong-Gi
authors: YG
authors: So
authors: JEOL Ltd., 1-2, Musashino 3-chome Akishima, Tokyo 196-8558, Japan.
authors: Yuji
authors: Y
authors: Kohno
authors: JEOL Ltd., 1-2, Musashino 3-chome Akishima, Tokyo 196-8558, Japan.
authors: Hidetaka
authors: H
authors: Sawada
authors: Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors: Ryo
authors: R
authors: Ishikawa
authors: Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors: Yuichi
authors: Y
authors: Ikuhara
authors: Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors: Naoya
authors: N
authors: Shibata