  Facing the ever-growing demand for data storage will most probably require a
new paradigm. Nanoscale magnetic skyrmions are anticipated to solve this issue
as they are arguably the smallest spin textures in magnetic thin films in
nature. We designed cobalt-based multilayered thin films where the cobalt layer
is sandwiched between two heavy metals providing additive interfacial
Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, which reach a value close to 2 mJ m-2 in
the case of the Ir|Co|Pt asymmetric multilayers. Using a
magnetization-sensitive scanning x-ray transmission microscopy technique, we
imaged small magnetic domains at very low field in these multilayers. The study
of their behavior in perpendicular magnetic field allows us to conclude that
they are actually magnetic skyrmions stabilized by the large
Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. This discovery of stable sub-100 nm
individual skyrmions at room temperature in a technologically relevant material
opens the way for device applications in a near future.

Materials Science