Tuning magnetic antiskyrmion stability in tetragonal inverse Heusler alloys

Abstract

The identification of materials supporting complex, tunable magnetic order at ambient temperatures is foundational to the development of new magnetic device architectures. We report the design of Mn2XY tetragonal inverse Heusler alloys that are capable of hosting magnetic antiskyrmions whose stability is sensitive to elastic strain. We first construct a universal magnetic Hamiltonian capturing the short-and long-range magnetic order which can be expected in these materials. This model reveals critical combinations of magnetic interactions that are necessary to approach a magnetic phase boundary, where the magnetic structure is highly susceptible to small perturbations such as elastic strain. We then computationally search for quaternary Mn2(X1, X2)Y alloys where these critical interactions may be realized and which are likely to be synthesizable in the inverse Heusler structure. We identify the Mn2Pt1−zXzGa family of materials with X = Au, Ir, Ni as an ideal system for accessing all possible magnetic phases, with several critical compositions where magnetic phase transitions may be actuated mechanically.