NV magnetic imaging of topological spin patterns in magnetic multilayers

Scanning diamond microscopes with an atom-like nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center near the probe tip have recently emerged as a leading tool for the study of nanoscale magnetism in a broad range of systems. We report on the development of a new approach for positiong a single NV centre at a few nanometres from the sample of interest. This is achieved by fabricating our magnetic device at the top of a polished quartz fiber, whose distance from a diamond nanopillar containing NV centers is then controlled via an atomic force microscope feedback. We employ this method for the investigation of thin ferromagnetic Co/Pt multilayers, where interfacial spin-orbit coupling is expected to stabilize complex topologically protected spin textures. The few-nanometers real-space extension of an isolated skyrmion structure in thin magnetic films makes its detection via standard spectroscopic techniques challenging, suggesting how NV magnetometry can be a unique candidate for the study of novel mesoscopic magnetism.