Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale topological spin structures offering great promise for next-generation information storage technologies. The recent discovery of sub-100-nm room-temperature (RT) skyrmions in several multilayer films has triggered vigorous efforts to modulate their physical properties for their use in devices. Here we present a tunable RT skyrmion platform based on multilayer stacks of Ir/Fe/Co/Pt, which we study using X-ray microscopy, magnetic force microscopy and Hall transport techniques. By varying the ferromagnetic layer composition, we can tailor the magnetic interactions governing skyrmion properties, thereby tuning their thermodynamic stability parameter by an order of magnitude. The skyrmions exhibit a smooth crossover between isolated (metastable) and disordered lattice configurations across samples, while their size and density can be tuned by factors of two and ten, respectively. We thus establish a platform for investigating functional sub-50-nm RT skyrmions, pointing towards the development of skyrmion-based memory devices.

The topological Hall effect (THE) is the Hall response to an emergent magnetic field, a manifestation of the skyrmion Berry-phase. As the magnitude of THE in magnetic multilayers is an open question, it is imperative to develop comprehensive understanding of skyrmions and other chiral textures, and their electrical fingerprint. Here, using Hall-transport and magnetic-imaging in a technologically viable multilayer film, we show that topological-Hall resistivity scales with the isolated-skyrmion density over a wide range of temperature and magnetic-field, confirming the impact of the skyrmion Berry-phase on electronic transport. While we establish qualitative agreement between the topological-Hall resistivity and the topological-charge density, our quantitative analysis shows much larger topological-Hall resistivity than the prevailing theory predicts for the observed skyrmion density. Our results are fundamental for the skyrmion-THE in multilayers, where interfacial interactions, multiband transport and non-adiabatic effects play an important role, and for skyrmion applications relying on THE.

Magnetic skyrmions are chiral spin structures recently observed at room temperature in multilayer films. Their topological stability will enable high scalability in confined geometries-a sought-after attribute for device applications. Despite numerous theoretical studies examining sub-100-nm Néel skyrmions in nanostructures, in practice their ambient stability and evolution with confinement and their magnetic parameters remain to be established. Here we present the zero-field stabilization of sub-100-nm room-temperature Néel-textured skyrmions confined in Ir/Fe(x)/Co(y)/Pt nanodots over a wide range of magnetic and geometric parameters. The zero-field skyrmion size, here as small as approximately 50 nm, can be tailored by a factor of 4 with variation of dot size and magnetic interactions. Crucially, skyrmions with differing thermodynamic stability exhibit an unexpected dichotomy in confinement phenomenologies. These results establish skyrmion phenomenology in multilayer nanostructures, and prompt the synergistic use of magnetic and geometric parameters to achieve desired properties in devices.

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We present a study of the stability of room-temperature skyrmions in [Ir/Fe/Co/Pt] thin film multilayers, using the First Order Reversal Curve (FORC) technique and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). FORC diagrams reveal irreversible changes in magnetization upon field reversals, which can be correlated with the evolution of local magnetic textures probed by MFM. Using this approach, we have identified two different mechanisms -(1) skyrmion merger and (2) skyrmion nucleation followed by stripe propagation -which facilitate magnetization reversal in a changing magnetic field. Analysing the signatures of these mechanisms in the FORC diagram allows us to identify magnetic "histories" -i.e. precursor field sweep protocols -capable of enhancing the final zero-field skyrmion density. Our results indicate that FORC measurements can play a useful role in characterizing spin topology in thin film multilayers, and are particularly suitable for identifying samples in which skyrmion populations can be stabilized at zero field.