Localized Skyrmion Formation in Amorphous Fe_0.56 Ge_0.44 Thin Films Driven by Intrinsic Magnetic Disorder

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures stabilized by Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions (DMI) under moderate magnetic fields and temperatures. Here, we report the emergence of skyrmion pockets in amorphous Fe_0.56 Ge_0.44 thin films at the boundaries of helical domains, revealing novel topological behavior in structurally disordered magnetic materials. Using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM), we observe the spontaneous nucleation of non-collinear spin textures at 205 K, which collapse into stable Bloch skyrmions with diameters of approximately 80 nm under a modest applied field, similar to that seen in B20 phase except that here the skyrmions have approximately equal distribution of up and down chirality. The distribution of skyrmions is attributed to atomic-scale fluctuations in exchange, anisotropy, and DMI intrinsic to the glassy structure. Our findings demonstrate a new route to stabilize metastable topological textures through structural disorder, opening avenues for reconfigurable spintronic devices. This study expands the fundamental phase diagram of skyrmion hosts and suggests amorphous magnets as versatile platforms for robust, high-density information storage and neuromorphic computing.