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1. A model heterostructure with engineered Berry curvature

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0151126  

   Schreiber, Nathaniel J. ; Miao, Ludi ; Goodge, Berit H. ; Kourkoutis, Lena F. ; Shen, Kyle M. ; Schlom, Darrell G. ( June 2023 , APL Materials)

   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.

    

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2. Strain‐Driven Mixed‐Phase Domain Architectures and Topological Transitions in Pb 1− x Sr x TiO 3 Thin Films

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202203469  

   Kavle, Pravin ; Zorn, Jacob A. ; Dasgupta, Arvind ; Wang, Bo ; Ramesh, Maya ; Chen, Long‐Qing ; Martin, Lane W. ( August 2022 , Advanced Materials)

   The potential for creating hierarchical domain structures, or mixtures of energetically degenerate phases with distinct patterns that can be modified continually, in ferroelectric thin films offers a pathway to control their mesoscale structure beyond lattice‐mismatch strain with a substrate. Here, it is demonstrated that varying the strontium content provides deterministic strain‐driven control of hierarchical domain structures in Pb_1−xSr_xTiO₃ solid‐solution thin films wherein two types,c/aanda₁/a₂, of nanodomains can coexist. Combining phase‐field simulations, epitaxial thin‐film growth, detailed structural, domain, and physical‐property characterization, it is observed that the system undergoes a gradual transformation (with increasing strontium content) from droplet‐likea₁/a₂ domains in ac/adomain matrix, to a connected‐labyrinth geometry ofc/adomains, to a disconnected labyrinth structure of the same, and, finally, to droplet‐likec/adomains in ana₁/a₂ domain matrix. A relationship between the different mixed‐phase modulation patterns and its topological nature is established. Annealing the connected‐labyrinth structure leads to domain coarsening forming distinctive regions of parallelc/aanda₁/a₂ domain stripes, offering additional design flexibility. Finally, it is found that the connected‐labyrinth domain patterns exhibit the highest dielectric permittivity.

    

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3. Spin structure and dynamics of the topological semimetal Co3Sn2-xInxS2

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-022-00523-w  

   Neubauer, Kelly J. ; Ye, Feng ; Shi, Yue ; Malinowski, Paul ; Gao, Bin ; Taddei, Keith M. ; Bourges, Philippe ; Ivanov, Alexandre ; Chu, Jiun-Haw ; Dai, Pengcheng ( December 2022 , npj Quantum Materials)

   The anomalous Hall effect (AHE), typically observed in ferromagnetic (FM) metals with broken time-reversal symmetry, depends on electronic and magnetic properties. In Co₃Sn_2-xIn_xS₂, a giant AHE has been attributed to Berry curvature associated with the FM Weyl semimetal phase, yet recent studies report complicated magnetism. We use neutron scattering to determine the spin dynamics and structures as a function ofxand provide a microscopic understanding of the AHE and magnetism interplay. Spin gap and stiffness indicate a contribution from Weyl fermions consistent with the AHE. The magnetic structure evolves fromc-axis ferromagnetism at$$x = 0$$$x=0$to a canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) structure with reducedc-axis moment and in-plane AFM order at$$x = 0.12$$$x=0.12$and further reducedc-axis FM moment at$$x = 0.3$$$x=0.3$. Since noncollinear spins can induce non-zero Berry curvature in real space acting as a fictitious magnetic field, our results revealed another AHE contribution, establishing the impact of magnetism on transport.

    

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4. Large anomalous Hall effect and negative magnetoresistance in half-topological semimetals

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-023-01469-6  

   Zhu, Yanglin ; Huang, Cheng-Yi ; Wang, Yu ; Graf, David ; Lin, Hsin ; Lee, Seng Huat ; Singleton, John ; Min, Lujin ; Palmstrom, Johanna C. ; Bansil, Arun ; et al ( November 2023 , Communications Physics)

   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 tanΘ^H≈ 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.

    

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5. Anomalous Hall effect and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin ferrimagnetic NiCo 2 O 4 films

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0097869  

   Chen, Xuegang ; Wu, Qiuchen ; Zhang, Le ; Hao, Yifei ; Han, Myung-Geun ; Zhu, Yimei ; Hong, Xia ( June 2022 , Applied Physics Letters)

   The inverse spinel ferrimagnetic NiCo₂O₄possesses high magnetic Curie temperature T_C, 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 T_Cfor 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.

    

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