Room-temperature magnetic skyrmions in Pt/Co/Cu multilayers

Magnetic skyrmions are promising for next-generation information storage and processing owing to their potential advantages in data storage density, robustness, and energy efficiency. The magnetic multilayers consisting of Pt, Co, and a third metal element X provide an ideal platform to study skyrmions due to their highly tunable magnetic properties. Here, we report the observation of room-temperature bubblelike Neel skyrmions in epitaxial Pt/Co/Cu multilayers in samples with multidomain states in zero field. The magneto-optic Kerr effect and a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry are applied to investigate the shapes of the hysteresis loops, the magnetic anisotropy, and the saturation magnetization. By tuning the Co thickness and the number of periods, we achieve perpendicular and in-plane magnetized states and multidomain states that are identified by a wasp-waisted hysteresis loop. Skyrmions are directly imaged by magnetic force microscopy and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. The development of room-temperature skyrmions in Pt/Co/Cu multilayers may lead to advances in skyrmion-related research and applications.