Artificial skyrmion in magnetic multilayers

A magnetic skyrmion is a promising candidate for information carrier in future logic functional devices, ultra-density storage devices, and neuromorphic computing. The presence of interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction in magnetron sputtered multilayers results in the spontaneous nucleation of magnetic skyrmion. However, the precise control of position and arrangement of magnetic skyrmion spontaneously nucleated in multilayers is still a significant challenge. Artificial skyrmion, generated by various external stimuli, shows high promise for manipulating the spatially ordered arrangement on demand. In this review, we summarize the progress of artificial skyrmion with various formation mechanisms. After introducing the concept of artificial skyrmion, we will focus on several methods of producing artificial skyrmion in magnetic multilayers using spin texture imprinting, integrated bias magnet, local magnetic field gradient, optical irradiation, and nanolithography. In the end, we give a perspective of the potential applications of artificial skyrmions for cavity magnonics and quantum spintronics.