Dynamic imprinting of nanoscale topological phases into an antiferromagnet

Controlling the magnetic order of antiferromagnets is challenging due to the vanishing net magnetisation. For this reason, the study of topologically protected real-space states of antiferromagnets is restricted by the difficulty in nucleating such states. Here, using atomistic simulations we demonstrate how to nucleate predefined, localised spin textures in a thin film antiferromagnet, $\gamma$-IrMn$_3$. Utilising the exchange bias coupling between a ferromagnet and an antiferromagnet, we imprint the topological states on the former onto the latter by means of a thermal cycling procedure. The imprinted textures are shown to be stable against field perturbations. We also discuss how various material parameters affect the efficiency of the imprinting and the characteristics of the imprinted textures. This work paves way for further studies on topologically protected real-space phases in antiferromagnets and promotes the development of denser and faster spintronic devices.