Symmetry-Tunable Skyrmions and Merons in Magnetic Nanodisks via Spatially Engineered Anisotropy.

Wang, X D; Oliveira da Silva, J F; Tao, Z H; Dong, H M; Chang, K; Milošević, M V · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We demonstrate that spatially engineered magnetic anisotropy can stabilize skyrmion and meron spin textures in magnetic nanodisks even in the absence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). Using a constrained analytical model and micromagnetic simulations, we show that competing perpendicular and in-plane anisotropies can generate noncollinear topological textures in nonchiral magnetic systems. We further show that DMI and dipolar interactions lift the helicity degeneracy and select preferred chiral configurations; micromagnetic simulations were used to identify physically stable states. These results establish anisotropy-patterned nanodisks as a platform for studying DMI-free topological spin textures and their controllable magnetic response. We also show that arrays of anisotropy-engineered skyrmions can control spin-wave transmission by manipulating their vorticity arrangement, pointing to reconfigurable magnonic elements based on nonchiral topological textures.