  The discovery of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnetic materials and
their heterostructures provided an exciting platform for emerging phenomena
with intriguing implications in information technology. Here, based on a
multiscale modelling approach that combines first-principles calculations and a
Heisenberg model, we demonstrate that interfacing a CrTe$_2$ layer with various
Te-based layers enables the control of the magnetic exchange and
Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions as well as the magnetic anisotropy energy of
the whole heterobilayer, and thereby the emergence of topological magnetic
phases such as skyrmions and antiferromagnetic Neel merons. The latter are
novel particles in the world of topological magnetism since they arise in a
frustrated Neel magnetic environment and manifest as multiples of intertwined
hexamer-textures. Our findings pave a promising road for proximity-induced
engineering of both ferromagnetic and long-sought antiferromagnetic chiral
objects in the very same 2D material, which is appealing for new information
technology devices employing quantum materials.
