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1. Surface magnetism in Fe ₃ GeTe ₂ van der Waals ferromagnet

   https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1583/adb43f  

   Tyson, Trevor A; Amarasinghe, Sandun; Abeykoon, A_M Milinda; Lalancette, Roger; Du, Kai; Fang, Xiaochen; Cheong, Sang-W; Al-Mahboob, Abdullah; Sadowski, Jerzy T (February 2025, 2D Materials)

   Abstract The surface magnetization of Fe₃GeTe₂was examined by low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) using an off-normal incidence electron beam. We found that the 180° domain walls are of Bloch type. Temperature-dependent LEEM measurements yield a surface magnetization with a surface critical exponentβ1 = 0.79 ± 0.02. This result is consistent with surface magnetism in the 3D semi-infinite Heisenberg (β1 = 0.84 ± 0.01) or Ising (β1 = 0.78 ± 0.02) models, which is distinctly different from the bulk exponent (β= 0.34 ± 0.07). The measurements reveal the power of LEEM with a tilted beam to determine magnetic domain structure in quantum materials without the need for the use of spin-polarized electrons. Single crystal diffraction measurements reveal inversion symmetry-breaking weak peaks and yield space group P-6m2. This Fe site defect-derived loss of inversion symmetry enables the formation of skyrmions in this Fe₃GeTe₂crystal. 

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2. Anderson critical metal phase in trivial states protected by average magnetic crystalline symmetry

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47467-2  

   Wang, Fa-Jie; Xiao, Zhen-Yu; Queiroz, Raquel; Bernevig, B Andrei; Stern, Ady; Song, Zhi-Da (December 2024, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Transitions between distinct obstructed atomic insulators (OAIs) protected by crystalline symmetries, where electrons form molecular orbitals centering away from the atom positions, must go through an intermediate metallic phase. In this work, we find that the intermediate metals will become a scale-invariant critical metal phase (CMP) under certain types of quenched disorder that respect the magnetic crystalline symmetries on average. We explicitly construct models respecting averageC_2zT, m, andC_4zTand show their scale-invariance under chemical potential disorder by the finite-size scaling method. Conventional theories, such as weak anti-localization and topological phase transition, cannot explain the underlying mechanism. A quantitative mapping between lattice and network models shows that the CMP can be understood through a semi-classical percolation problem. Ultimately, we systematically classify all the OAI transitions protected by (magnetic) groups$$Pm,P{2}^{{\prime} },P{4}^{{\prime} }$$ $Pm,P{2}^{\prime },P{4}^{\prime }$, and$$P{6}^{{\prime} }$$ $P{6}^{\prime }$with and without spin-orbit coupling, most of which can support CMP. 

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3. Symmetry Control of Unconventional Spin–Orbit Torques in IrO ₂

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202301608  

   Patton, Michael; Gurung, Gautam; Shao, Ding‐Fu; Noh, Gahee; Mittelstaedt, Joseph A.; Mazur, Marcel; Kim, Jong‐Woo; Ryan, Philip J.; Tsymbal, Evgeny Y.; Choi, Si‐Young; et al (September 2023, Advanced Materials)

   Abstract Spin–orbit torques generated by a spin current are key to magnetic switching in spintronic applications. The polarization of the spin current dictates the direction of switching required for energy‐efficient devices. Conventionally, the polarizations of these spin currents are restricted to be along a certain direction due to the symmetry of the material allowing only for efficient in‐plane magnetic switching. Unconventional spin–orbit torques arising from novel spin current polarizations, however, have the potential to switch other magnetization orientations such as perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which is desired for higher density spintronic‐based memory devices. Here, it is demonstrated that low crystalline symmetry is not required for unconventional spin–orbit torques and can be generated in a nonmagnetic high symmetry material, iridium dioxide (IrO₂), using epitaxial design. It is shown that by reducing the relative crystalline symmetry with respect to the growth direction large unconventional spin currents can be generated and hence spin–orbit torques. Furthermore, the spin polarizations detected in (001), (110), and (111) oriented IrO₂thin films are compared to show which crystal symmetries restrict unconventional spin transport. Understanding and tuning unconventional spin transport generation in high symmetry materials can provide a new route towards energy‐efficient magnetic switching in spintronic devices. 

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4. Fast and Energy‐Efficient Non‐Volatile III‐V‐on‐Silicon Photonic Phase Shifter Based on Memristors

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202301178  

   Fang, Zhuoran; Tossoun, Bassem; Descos, Antoine; Liang, Di; Huang, Xue; Kurczveil, Geza; Majumdar, Arka; Beausoleil, Raymond G. (October 2023, Advanced Optical Materials)

   Abstract Silicon photonics has evolved from lab research to commercial products in the past decade as it plays an increasingly crucial role in data communication for next‐generation data centers and high‐performance computing. Recently, programmable silicon photonics has also found new applications in quantum and classical information processing. A key component of programmable silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is the phase shifter, traditionally realized via thermo‐optic or free‐carrier effects that are weak, volatile, and power hungry. A non‐volatile phase shifter can circumvent these limitations by requiring zero power to maintain the switched phases. Previously non‐volatile phase modulation is achieved via phase‐change or ferroelectric materials, but the switching energy remains high (pico to nano joules) and the speed is slow (micro to milliseconds). Here, a non‐volatile III‐V‐on‐silicon photonic phase shifter based on a HfO₂memristor with sub‐pJ switching energy (≈400 fJ), representing over an order of magnitude improvement in energy efficiency compared to the state of the art, is reported. The non‐volatile phase shifter can be switched reversibly using a single 100 ns pulse and exhibits excellent endurance over 800 cycles. This technology can enable future energy‐efficient programmable PICs for data centers, optical neural networks, and quantum information processing. 

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5. The Effect of Secondary‐Phase Fraction on the Deformation of Olivine + Ferropericlase Aggregates: 1. Microstructural Evolution

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB025723  

   Wiesman, Harison S.; Zimmerman, Mark E.; Kohlstedt, David L. (April 2023, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Abstract To study the microstructural evolution of polymineralic rocks, we performed deformation experiments on two‐phase aggregates of olivine (Ol) + ferropericlase (Per) with periclase fractions (f_Per) between 0.1 and 0.8. Additionally, single‐phase samples of both Ol and Per were deformed under the same experimental conditions to facilitate comparison of the microstructures in two‐phase and single‐phase materials. Each sample was deformed in torsion atT = 1523 K,P = 300 MPa at a constant strain rate up to a final shear strain of γ = 6 to 7. Microstructural developments, analyzed via electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), indicate differences in both grain size and crystalline texture between single‐ and two‐phase samples. During deformation, grain size approximately doubled in our single‐phase samples of Ol and Per but remained unchanged or decreased in two‐phase samples. Zener‐pinning relationships fit to the mean grain sizes in each phase for samples with 0.1 ≤ f_Per≤ 0.5 and for those with 0.8 ≥ f_Per ≥ 0.5 demonstrate that the grain size of the primary phase is controlled by phase‐boundary pinning. Crystallographic preferred orientations, determined for both phases from EBSD data, are significantly weaker in the two‐phase materials than in the single‐phase materials. 

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