Motion of Skyrmions in Well-Separated Two-Lane Racetracks

Magnetic skyrmions are topological structures which can be used to store information as data bits in metallic racetrack memories. Their good properties, such as their stability, small size and low currents needed to drive them make them better candidates than traditional magnetic domain walls for the building of the next generation data storage. A skyrmion racetrack memory has been suggested, with the binary data encoded in the distance between skyrmions when the racetrack is a single lane. Here, we propose a new skyrmion-based two-lane racetrack structure separated by a high-[Formula: see text] (high magnetocrystalline anisotropy) middle lane, which confines the skyrmions in their respective lanes. This design gives a new data presentation for the skyrmions on the racetrack. Phase diagrams for the skyrmion motion on the proposed racetrack as functions of the current density, middle lane anisotropy, middle lane width and DMI constant have been calculated and given, demonstrating that skyrmions can be driven in different lanes of the racetrack. This design offers the possibility of building an ultrafast and energy-efficient skyrmion transport device.