Multiscale Insights to the Origins and Dynamics of Chiral Magnetic Textures in Intercalated TMDs

Dynamically tunable properties such as magnetic textures have many potential applications for next-generation information and communication technologies ranging from spintronics to broadband resonators. One promising class of materials are intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), in which a wide range of electronic and magnetic phases which can be tuned by varying the host lattice or the species, amount, and ordering of intercalants. Chromium-intercalated TMDs, for example, stabilize low-temperature helical magnetic order with chiral winding along the <i>c</i>-axis of the crystal where the helical pitch is tunable by both spin-orbit coupling of the host TMD compound and by external in-plane magnetic fields. The extensive phase space of stoichiometry- and field-dependence of these textures provides a rich playground for real-space visualization of the interplay between atomic lattice and mesoscale magnetic order. Here, we leverage a combination of high-resolution and cryogenic imaging techniques in the (scanning) transmission electron microscope (S/TEM) to directly probe both atomic and magnetic (dis)order across multiple length scales. We reveal the dramatic impact of subtle changes in the atomic lattice on mesoscale magnetic textures and their dynamic evolution, and offer suggestions for more precisely-controlled synthesis of these compounds for future applications [1].<br/><br/>[1] Goodge*, Gonzalez*, et al. arXiv:2305.06656 (2023).<br/><br/>*This work supported by University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, Schmidt Science Fellows in partnership with the Rhodes Trust, the National Science Foundation (DMR-2039380, DMR-1719875, MRI-1429155, DMR-1539918), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-20-1-0007).