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Magnetic microscopy of skyrmions in magnetic thin films with chiral overlayers

Buddhika Hondamuni1,2,*, Théo Balland1, Fabian Kammerbauer1, Ashish Moharana1, Bindu3, Amandeep Singh3, Meital Ozeri3, Shira Yochelis3, Yossi Paltiel3 et al.

Omkar Dhungel1,2, Zeeshawn Kazi4, Kai-Mei C. Fu5,6, Hideyuki Watanabe7, Mathias Kläui1, Arne Wickenbrock1,2,8, Nir Bar-Gill3,9, Angela Wittmann1, and Dmitry Budker1,2,8,10,†

  • *Contact author: hondamub@uni-mainz.de
  • †Contact author: budker@uni-mainz.de
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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 044075 – Published 26 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/thmz-53f2

Abstract

Topologically nontrivial magnetic textures such as skyrmions offer promising opportunities for spintronic applications. In recent years, it has been shown that the magnetic properties of layered materials can be affected by depositing chiral molecules on the surface, while the influence of chiral overlayers on skyrmion properties such as their stability and interactions remains largely unexplored. To address this challenge, we employ wide-field nitrogen-vacancy (N−V) magnetometry to directly image skyrmions in chiral-molecule-functionalized magnetic thin films, enabling quantitative mapping of magnetic stray fields over extended areas under ambient conditions. Using pixel-resolved optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) combined with controlled magnetic fields, we reproducibly nucleate and probe skyrmion states in CoFeB ferromagnetic samples, enabling quantitative investigation of their properties. We observe indications of enantioselective and magnetic-field-polarity-dependent modifications of skyrmion properties suggesting possible chirality-dependent modifications of topological spin textures and motivating future theoretical investigations of the underlying coupling mechanisms.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 044075– Published 26 October, 2026
  • Received 23 April 2026
  • Revised 10 August 2026
  • Accepted 22 September 2026
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