Experimental observation of the correlation between the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and work function in metallic magnetic trilayers

The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) generates intriguing chiral magnetic objects, such as magnetic skyrmions and chiral domain walls, that can be used as building blocks in emerging magnetic nanodevices. Precise control of the DMI strength is one of the key issues for achieving better stability and functionality of these chiral objects. In this paper, we report that in magnetic trilayer films, the DMI strength exhibits a noticeable correlation with the work functions of the non-magnetic layers interfaced to the magnetic layer. This correlation with the intrinsic material parameters provides a guideline for material selection for engineering the DMI strength