An Emergent Chiral Spin Crystal Phase in (111) SrRuO 3 Thin Films

Perovskite ruthenates are fascinating playgrounds for exploring topological spin textures but generally rely on extrinsic mechanisms to trigger the noncoplanar states. Here, we report the discovery of an emergent chiral spin crystal phase in (111) SrRuO₃ epitaxial films, characterized by a significant topological Hall effect and noncoplanar spin arrangements with different propagation vectors along two orthogonal directions. Instead of being driven by the enhanced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction due to broken inversion symmetry at heterointerfaces, this emergent state arises intrinsically from the interplay of dipolar interactions and magnetic frustration, leading to the stabilization of topological phases in much thicker films. These findings highlight a potential route for creating and controlling the topological spin states in perovskites with broad implications for spintronic device design.