  We fabricate devices in which a magnetic nanopillar spin valve makes contact
to a Co/Pt bilayer thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, in order
to achieve local control of domains in the Co/Pt bilayer underneath the
nanopillar. The goal is to develop the ability to nucleate, detect, and
annihilate magnetic skyrmions in the Co/Pt using spin-polarized currents from
the nanopillar. We demonstrate the ability to distinguish the local behavior of
the Co/Pt film beneath the nanopillar from the extended film and show that the
two can switch independently of each other. This allows us to isolate a
localized domain under the pillar that can be controlled separately from the
rest of the Co/Pt film using applied currents and magnetic fields.
Micromagnetic simulations indicate that this localized domain has skyrmion
symmetry. Our results represent a first step toward controlling
room-temperature skyrmions using localized spin-transfer torque.
