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Programmable skyrmions for communication and sensing

Nature Electronics (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

Plasmonic skyrmions are electromagnetic counterparts of topologically stable quasiparticles and could potentially be used as robust information carriers. However, practical applications require tunable devices that can encode the topological structures. Here we report a programmable platform that can encode plasmonic skyrmions with diverse topologies, including Néel-type skyrmions and merons. We synthesize harmonic skyrmions in the temporal dimension using ultrafast coding and apply the skyrmions in communication and sensing applications. In particular, we show that the programmable topological skyrmions can be used in robust and multichannel wireless communications, suggesting that the approach could provide communications in turbulent noise channels and extreme conditions. Together with a convolutional neural network, we also show that the platform can be used in the intelligent sensing of 20 animal figurines, achieving high recognition accuracy.

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Fig. 1: Programmable skyrmions for robust communication and intelligent sensing.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 2: Dynamic properties of skyrmions under spatial and temporal multiplexed modulation.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 3: Experimental demonstration of wireless communication systems based on the programmable skyrmion transmitter.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 4: Experimental demonstration of the target intelligent sensing and recognition system based on the programmable skyrmion platform.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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  • 08 May 2026

    In the version of Supplementary Information initially published alongside this article, the file was incomplete and is now amended in the HTML version of the article.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 62288101, T.J.C.; grant no. 92167202, Q.M.), SEU Innovation Capability Enhancement Plan for Doctoral Students (grant no. CXJH_SEU 26043, L.C.), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no. 2023YFB3813100, J.W.Y.), Jiangsu Joint Laboratory of Multidimensional Perceptual Information Technology (grant no. BM2022017, Q.M.), Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) AcRF Tier 1 grant (grant no. RG157/23, Y.S.), MoE AcRF Tier 1 Thematic grant (grant no. RT11/23, Y.S.), Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) MTC Individual Research Grants (grant no. M24N7c0080, Y.S.), Nanyang Assistant Professorship Start Up Grant, Special Fund for Key Basic Research in Jiangsu Province (grant no. BK20243015, J.W.Y.), the Jiangsu Province Frontier Leading Technology Basic Research Project (grant no. BK20212002, T.J.C.), the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (grant no. 2022QNRC001, Q.M.), the 111 Project (grant no. 111-2-05, T.J.C.) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant no. 2021M700761, Q.M.; grant no. 2022T150112, Q.M.).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Long Chen, Xin Yu Li.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Wave, Southeast University, Nanjing, China

    Long Chen, Xin Yu Li, Ze Gu, Jian Lin Su, Qiang Xiao, Si Qi Huang, Shi Long Qin, Qian Ma, Jian Wei You & Tie Jun Cui

  2. Institute of Electromagnetic Space, Southeast University, Nanjing, China

    Long Chen, Xin Yu Li, Ze Gu, Jian Lin Su, Qiang Xiao, Si Qi Huang, Shi Long Qin, Qian Ma, Jian Wei You & Tie Jun Cui

  3. Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Yijie Shen

  4. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Yijie Shen

  5. Suzhou Laboratory, Suzhou, China

    Tie Jun Cui

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Contributions

Y.S., J.W.Y. and T.J.C. conceived of the idea. L.C., Z.G., X.Y.L. and Q.M. designed the experiments. Y.S., J.W.Y. and T.J.C. supervised the project. L.C., Z.G., X.Y.L., J.L.S., Q.X., S.Q.H. and S.L.Q. conducted the experiments, and collected and analysed the data. L.C., Y.S. and J.W.Y. carried out the simulations and theoretical analyses and wrote all the code. L.C., Y.S., J.W.Y. and T.J.C. wrote the paper, with contributions from all authors.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yijie Shen, Qian Ma, Jian Wei You or Tie Jun Cui.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information

Nature Electronics thanks Emanuele Galiffi, Xiangping Li, Duc A. Pham and Jiaran Qi for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information (download PDF )

Supplementary Notes 1–25, Figs. 1–46, equations (1)–(8), References and Discussion.

Supplementary Video (download MP4 )

Results of experimental tests and numerical calculations of Néel-type skyrmion in Code 0 state.

Supplementary Video (download MP4 )

Results of experimental tests and numerical calculations of meron in Code 1 state.

Supplementary Video (download MP4 )

Transmission results of the video based on the implementation of OFDM-modulated skyrmion wireless communication system.

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Chen, L., Li, X.Y., Shen, Y. et al. Programmable skyrmions for communication and sensing. Nat Electron (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-026-01611-6

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