Effect of Magnetic Anisotropy Constants on Skyrmion Formation in Co/Pt

Skyrmions, which are topologically stable magnetic structures, have manifested promising features to be used as an information carrier in new-age, non-volatile data storage devices. In this article, we show how the creation and stability of skyrmion can be manipulated by external stimuli (here, nano-second current pulse). Co/Pt square nano-structure with Co free layer thickness in the range 1 nm to 5 nm and first and second-order anisotropy constants are taken to study the controlled creation of skyrmions. The magnetization dynamics controlled by the current-induced spin transfer torque help to nucleate skyrmions by transformation from perpendicularly magnetized ground state to a stable state of isolated skyrmions via complex transformation of Neel wall following its image inversion. Compared with the first-order anisotropy alone, how the higher-order anisotropy constants (up to second order) impact the relaxed state of a system has been discussed.