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Grazing-incidence resonant elastic x-ray scattering of skyrmion lattices in bulk MnSi

Jingyi Chen1, Andreas Bauer2,3, Christian Pfleiderer2,3,4,5, Gerrit van der Laan6, Thorsten Hesjedal6,7,*, and Shilei Zhang1,8,9,†

  • *Contact author: thorsten.hesjedal@physics.ox.ac.uk
  • †Contact author: shilei.zhang@shanghaitech.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024039 – Published 14 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1788-7m8w

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are spin textures with nontrivial topology that form two-dimensional hexagonal lattices (SkX) in chiral magnets. Element-specific reciprocal-space characterization of skyrmion lattices with soft x-rays commonly relies on transmission geometries, which require thinning of bulk crystals and can modify their magnetic properties. Here, we show that resonant elastic x-ray scattering in a grazing-incidence geometry (GIREXS) provides a nondestructive and geometrically flexible probe of skyrmion lattices in bulk materials. Using MnSi as a model system, GIREXS resolves the helical, conical, and skyrmion-lattice states through their characteristic magnetic satellite peaks and yields the skyrmion wave vector. By operating just above the critical angle (αc≈1.6° in MnSi at the Mn L3 edge), the method achieves a probing depth of approximately 3  nm, tunable up to approximately 20  nm via the incidence angle, while maintaining full reciprocal-space access to the in-plane magnetic correlations. The grazing-incidence approach circumvents the structural Bragg-peak constraints that limit conventional reflection resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS) at fixed soft-x-ray energies. Our measurements establish GIREXS as a practical method for studying magnetic superstructures in bulk crystals, providing direct reciprocal-space access to magnetic satellite reflections and a basis for future depth-controlled, element-selective investigations of complex spin textures.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024039– Published 14 August, 2026
  • Received 28 February 2026
  • Revised 14 May 2026
  • Accepted 16 July 2026
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