  Skyrmions in non-centrosymmetric magnets are vortex-like spin arrangements,
viewed as potential candidates for information storage devices. The crystal
structure and non-collinear magnetic structure together with magnetic and
spin-orbit interactions define the symmetry of the Skyrmion structure. We
outline the importance of these parameters in the Heusler compound Mn1.4PtSn
which hosts antiskyrmions, a vortex-like spin texture related to skyrmions.1 We
overcome the challenge of growing large micro-twin-free single crystals of
Mn1.4PtSn which has proved to be the bottleneck for realizing bulk
skyrmionic/antiskyrmionic states in a compound. The use of 5d-transition metal,
platinum, together with manganese as constituents in the Heusler compound such
as Mn1.4PtSn is a precondition for the non-collinear magnetic structure. Due to
the tetragonal inverse Heusler structure, Mn1.4PtSn exhibits large
magneto-crystalline anisotropy and D2d symmetry, which are necessary for
antiskyrmions. The superstructure in Mn1.4PtSn is induced by Mn-vacancies which
enables a ferromagnetic exchange interaction to occur. Mn1.4PtSn, the first
known tetragonal Heusler superstructure compound, opens up a new research
direction for properties related to the superstructure in a family containing
thousands of compounds.

Materials Science