Creating Skyrmions in Thin CoPt Films with an Atomic Force Microscope Probe

Methods of magnetic force microscopy are developed that make it possible to visualize the evolution of the domain structure that occurs when scanning a sample with a magnetic probe. The new technique is used to study the formation in CoPt thin films the skyrmions, a characteristic feature of which is Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction. Changes in the position, shape, and size of the skyrmions when exposed to the probe’s magnetic field are described experimentally.