An official website of the United States government
Molecular-beam epitaxy enables ultrathin functional materials to be combined in heterostructures to create emergent phenomena at the interface. Magnetic skyrmions are an example of an exciting phase found in such heterostructures. SrRuO3 and SrRuO3-based heterostructures have been at the center of the debate on whether a hump-like feature appearing in Hall resistivities is sufficient evidence to prove the presence of skyrmions in a material. To address the ambiguity, we synthesize a model heterostructure with engineered Berry curvature that combines, in parallel, a positive anomalous Hall effect (AHE) channel (a Sr0.6Ca0.4RuO3 layer) with a negative AHE channel (a SrRuO3 layer). We demonstrate that the two opposite AHE channels can be combined to artificially reproduce a “hump-like” feature, which closely resembles the hump-like feature typically attributed to the topological Hall effect and the presence of chiral spin textures, such as skyrmions. We compare our heterostructure with a parallel resistor model, where the inputs are the AHE data from individual Sr0.6Ca0.4RuO3 and SrRuO3 films. To check for the presence of skyrmions, we measure the current dependence, angle dependence, and minor loop dependence of Rhump in the heterostructure. Despite the clear hump, no evidence of skyrmions is found.
more »
« less
Origin of Topological Hall‐Like Feature in Epitaxial SrRuO 3 Thin Films
Abstract The discovery of topological Hall effect (THE) has important implications for next‐generation high‐density nonvolatile memories, energy‐efficient nanoelectronics, and spintronic devices. Both real‐space topological spin configurations and two anomalous Hall effects (AHE) with opposite polarity due to two magnetic phases have been proposed for THE‐like feature in SrRuO3(SRO) films. In this work, SRO thin films with and without THE‐like features are systematically Investigated to decipher the origin of the THE feature. Magnetic measurement reveals the coexistence of two magnetic phases of different coercivity (Hc) in both the films, but the hump feature cannot be explained by the two channel AHE model based on these two magnetic phases. In fact, the AHE is mainly governed by the magnetic phase with higherHc. A diffusive Berry phase transition model is proposed to explain the THE feature. The coexistence of two Berry phases with opposite signs over a narrow temperature range in the high Hc magnetic phase can explain the THE like feature. Such a coexistence of two Berry phases is due to the strong local structural tilt and microstructure variation in the thinner films. This work provides an insight between structure/micro structure and THE like features in SRO epitaxial thin films.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1902623
- PAR ID:
- 10419025
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Electronic Materials
- Volume:
- 9
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 2199-160X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Covalent 2D magnets such as Cr2Te3, which feature self‐intercalated magnetic cations located between monolayers of transition‐metal dichalcogenide material, offer a unique platform for controlling magnetic order and spin texture, enabling new potential applications for spintronic devices. Here, it is demonstrated that the unconventional anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in Cr2Te3, characterized by additional humps and dips near the coercive field in AHE hysteresis, originates from an intrinsic mechanism dictated by the self‐intercalation. This mechanism is distinctly different from previously proposed mechanisms such as topological Hall effect, or two‐channel AHE arising from spatial inhomogeneities. Crucially, multiple Weyl‐like nodes emerge in the electronic band structure due to strong spin‐orbit coupling, whose positions relative to the Fermi level is sensitively modulated by the canting angles of the self‐intercalated Cr cations. These nodes contribute strongly to the Berry curvature and AHE conductivity. This component competes with the contribution from bands that are less affected by the self‐intercalation, resulting in a sign change in AHE with temperature and the emergence of additional humps and dips. The findings provide compelling evidence for the intrinsic origin of the unconventional AHE in Cr2Te3 and further establish self‐intercalation as a control knob for engineering AHE in complex magnets.more » « less
-
Magnetic flux densities ( B-fields) and field intensities ( H-fields) in thin films are investigated from the viewpoints of Berry phase and topological Hall effect. The well-known origin of the topological Hall effect is an emergent B-field originating from the Berry phase of conduction electrons, but Maxwell’s equations predict the relevant perpendicular component B z to be zero. This paradox is solved by treating the electrons as point-like objects in Lorentz cavities. These cavities can also be used to interpret magnetization measurements in the present and other contexts, but structural and magnetic inhomogeneities lead to major modifications of the Lorentz-hole picture.more » « less
-
Abstract Proposed mechanisms for large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in magnetic topological semimetals include diverging Berry curvatures of Weyl nodes, anticrossing nodal rings or points of non-trivial bands. Here we demonstrate that a half-topological semimetal (HTS) state near a topological critical point can provide an alternative mechanism for a large AHE via systematic studies on an antiferromagnetic (AFM) half-Heusler compound TbPdBi. We not only observe a large AHE with tanΘH≈ 2 in its field-driven ferromagnetic (FM) phase, but also find a distinct Hall resistivity peak in its canted AFM phase. Moreover, we observe a large negative magnetoresistance with a value of ~98%. Our in-depth theoretical modelling indicates that these exotic transport properties originate from the HTS state which exhibits Berry curvature cancellation between the trivial spin-up and nontrivial spin-down bands. Our study offers alternative strategies for improved materials design for spintronics and other applications.more » « less
-
The inverse spinel ferrimagnetic NiCo2O4possesses high magnetic Curie temperature TC, high spin polarization, and strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy. Understanding the thickness scaling limit of these intriguing magnetic properties in NiCo2O4thin films is critical for their implementation in nanoscale spintronic applications. In this work, we report the unconventional magnetotransport properties of epitaxial (001) NiCo2O4films on MgAl2O4substrates in the ultrathin limit. Anomalous Hall effect measurements reveal strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for films down to 1.5 unit cell (1.2 nm), while TCfor 3 unit cell and thicker films remains above 300 K. The sign change in the anomalous Hall conductivity [Formula: see text] and its scaling relation with the longitudinal conductivity ([Formula: see text]) can be attributed to the competing effects between impurity scattering and band intrinsic Berry curvature, with the latter vanishing upon the thickness driven metal–insulator transition. Our study reveals the critical role of film thickness in tuning the relative strength of charge correlation, Berry phase effect, spin–orbit interaction, and impurity scattering, providing important material information for designing scalable epitaxial magnetic tunnel junctions and sensing devices using NiCo2O4.more » « less
