Abstract:
The possibilities of controlled exposure to ion irradiation (He$^+$ with an energy of 20 keV and a fluence in the range from 3$\cdot$10$^{14}$ to 3$\cdot$10$^{15}$ cm$^{-2}$) as a method for modifying the magnetic properties and domain structure of Co$_{0.35}$Pt$_{0.65}$ thin ferromagnetic films have been studied. It was found that the ion irradiation causes a change in the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction constant and a change in the skyrmion density that correlates with it. This result shows the possibility of homogeneous ion irradiation as a way to control the micromagnetic structure, namely the process of formation of skyrmion states.
Keywords:ferromagnetic thin films, ion irradiation, domain structure, magnetic force microscopy, Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, skyrmions.