Magnetic skyrmions are knot-like quasiparticles. They are candidates for non-volatile data storage in which information is moved between fixed read and write terminals. Read-out operation of skyrmion-based spintronic devices will rely upon electrical detection of a single magnetic skyrmion within a nanostructure. Here, we present Pt/Co/Ir nanodiscs which support skyrmions at room temperature. We measured the Hall resistivity whilst simultaneously imaging the spin texture using magnetic scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM). The Hall resistivity is correlated to both the presence and size of the skyrmion. The size-dependent part matches the expected anomalous Hall signal when averaging the magnetisation over the entire disc. We observed a resistivity contribution which only depends on the number and sign of skyrmion-like objects present in the disc. Each skyrmion gives rise to 22±2 n{\Omega} cm irrespective of its size. This contribution needs to be considered in all-electrical detection schemes applied to skyrmion-based devices.
@article{arxiv.1706.06024,
title = {Discrete Hall resistivity contribution from N\'{e}el skyrmions in multilayer nanodiscs},
author = {Katharina Zeissler and Simone Finizio and Kowsar Shahbazi and Jamie Massey and Fatma Al Ma`Mari and David M. Bracher and Armin Kleibert and Mark C. Rosamond and Edmund H. Linfield and Thomas A. Moore and Jörg Raabe and Gavin Burnell and Christopher H. Marrows},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.06024},
year = {2018}
}