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1. Giant bulk spin–orbit torque and efficient electrical switching in single ferrimagnetic FeTb layers with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0087260  

   Liu, Qianbiao ; Zhu, Lijun ; Zhang, Xiyue S. ; Muller, David A. ; Ralph, Daniel C. ( June 2022 , Applied Physics Reviews)

   Efficient manipulation of antiferromagnetically coupled materials that are integration-friendly and have strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is of great interest for low-power, fast, dense magnetic storage and computing. Here, we report a distinct, giant bulk damping-like spin–orbit torque in strong-PMA ferrimagnetic Fe 100− x Tb x single layers that are integration-friendly (composition-uniform, amorphous, and sputter-deposited). For sufficiently thick layers, this bulk torque is constant in the efficiency per unit layer thickness, [Formula: see text]/ t, with a record-high value of 0.036 ± 0.008 nm −1 , and the damping-like torque efficiency [Formula: see text] achieves very large values for thick layers, up to 300% for 90 nm layers. This giant bulk torque by itself switches tens of nm thick Fe 100− x Tb x layers that have very strong PMA and high coercivity at current densities as low as a few MA/cm 2 . Surprisingly, for a given layer thickness, [Formula: see text] shows strong composition dependence and becomes negative for composition where the total angular momentum is oriented parallel to the magnetization rather than antiparallel. Our findings of giant bulk spin torque efficiency and intriguing torque-compensation correlation will stimulate study of such unique spin–orbit phenomena in a variety of ferrimagnetic hosts. This work paves a promising avenue for developing ultralow-power, fast, dense ferrimagnetic storage and computing devices. 

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2. Systemic consequences of disorder in magnetically self-organized topological MnBi 2 Te 4 /(Bi 2 Te 3 ) n superlattices

   https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1583/ac3cc6  

   Sitnicka, Joanna ; Park, Kyungwha ; Skupiński, Paweł ; Grasza, Krzysztof ; Reszka, Anna ; Sobczak, Kamil ; Borysiuk, Jolanta ; Adamus, Zbigniew ; Tokarczyk, Mateusz ; Avdonin, Andrei ; et al ( December 2021 , 2D Materials)

   Abstract MnBi 2 Te 4 /(Bi 2 Te 3 ) n materials system has recently generated strong interest as a natural platform for the realization of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) state. The system is magnetically much better ordered than substitutionally doped materials, however, the detrimental effects of certain disorders are becoming increasingly acknowledged. Here, from compiling structural, compositional, and magnetic metrics of disorder in ferromagnetic (FM) MnBi 2 Te 4 /(Bi 2 Te 3 ) n it is found that migration of Mn between MnBi 2 Te 4 septuple layers (SLs) and otherwise non-magnetic Bi 2 Te 3 quintuple layers (QLs) has systemic consequences—it induces FM coupling of Mn-depleted SLs with Mn-doped QLs, seen in ferromagnetic resonance as an acoustic and optical resonance mode of the two coupled spin subsystems. Even for a large SL separation ( n ≳ 4 QLs) the structure cannot be considered as a stack of uncoupled two-dimensional layers. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory studies show that Mn disorder within an SL causes delocalization of electron wave functions and a change of the surface band structure as compared to the ideal MnBi 2 Te 4 /(Bi 2 Te 3 ) n . These findings highlight the critical importance of inter- and intra-SL disorder towards achieving new QAH platforms as well as exploring novel axion physics in intrinsic topological magnets. 

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3. Effect of electron–electron interaction on magnitude of quantum oscillations of dissipative resistance in magnetic fields

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0127286  

   Abedi, Sara ; Vitkalov, Sergey ; Bykov, A. A. ; Bakarov, A. K. ( December 2022 , Journal of Applied Physics)

   Magneto-intersubband resistance oscillations (MISOs) of highly mobile 2D electrons in symmetric GaAs quantum wells with two populated subbands are studied in magnetic fields [Formula: see text] tilted from the normal to the 2D electron layer at different temperatures [Formula: see text]. The in-plane component ([Formula: see text]) of the field [Formula: see text] induces magnetic entanglement between subbands, leading to beating in oscillating density of states (DOS) and to MISO suppression. Model of the MISO suppression is proposed. Within the model, a comparison of MISO amplitude in the entangled and disentangled ([Formula: see text]) 2D systems yields both difference frequency of DOS oscillations, [Formula: see text], and strength of the electron–electron interaction, described by parameter [Formula: see text], in the 2D system. These properties are analyzed using two methods, yielding consistent but not identical results for both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The analysis reveals an additional angular dependent factor of MISO suppression. The factor is related to spin splitting of quantum levels in magnetic fields. 

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4. Nonlinear Nano‐Imaging of Interlayer Coupling in 2D Graphene‐Semiconductor Heterostructures

   https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202307345  

   Luo, Wenjin ; Song, Renkang ; Whetten, Benjamin G. ; Huang, Di ; Cheng, Xinbin ; Belyanin, Alexey ; Jiang, Tao ; Raschke, Markus B. ( January 2024 , Small)

   The emergent electronic, spin, and other quantum properties of 2D heterostructures of graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides are controlled by the underlying interlayer coupling and associated charge and energy transfer dynamics. However, these processes are sensitive to interlayer distance and crystallographic orientation, which are in turn affected by defects, grain boundaries, or other nanoscale heterogeneities. This obfuscates the distinction between interlayer charge and energy transfer. Here, nanoscale imaging in coherent four‐wave mixing (FWM) and incoherent two‐photon photoluminescence (2PPL) is combined with a tip distance‐dependent coupled rate equation model to resolve the underlying intra‐ and inter‐layer dynamics while avoiding the influence of structural heterogeneities in mono‐ to multi‐layer graphene/WSe₂ heterostructures. With selective insertion of hBN spacer layers, it is shown that energy, as opposed to charge transfer, dominates the interlayer‐coupled optical response. From the distinct nano‐FWM and ‐2PPL tip‐sample distance‐dependent modification of interlayer and intralayer relaxation by tip‐induced enhancement and quenching, an interlayer energy transfer time of  ps consistent with recent reports is derived. As a local probe technique, this approach highlights the ability to determine intrinsic sample properties even in the presence of large sample heterogeneity.

    

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5. Excitation and detection of coherent sub-terahertz magnons in ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic heterostructures

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-022-00851-2  

   Zhuang, Shihao ; Hu, Jia-Mian ( August 2022 , npj Computational Materials)

   Excitation of coherent high-frequency magnons (quanta of spin waves) is critical to the development of high-speed magnonic devices. Here we computationally demonstrate the excitation of coherent sub-terahertz (THz) magnons in ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin films by a photoinduced picosecond acoustic pulse. Analytical calculations are also performed to reveal the magnon excitation mechanism. Through spin pumping and spin-charge conversion, these magnons can inject sub-THz charge current into an adjacent heavy-metal film which in turn emits electromagnetic (EM) waves. Using a dynamical phase-field model that considers the coupled dynamics of acoustic waves, spin waves, and EM waves, we show that the emitted EM wave retains the spectral information of all the sub-THz magnon modes and has a sufficiently large amplitude for near-field detection. These predictions indicate that the excitation and detection of sub-THz magnons can be realized in rationally designed FM or AFM thin-film heterostructures via ultrafast optical-pump THz-emission-probe spectroscopy.

    

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