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Abstract: Magnetic topological insulators (TIs) are an ideal playground for the study of novel quantum phenomena
building on time-reversal symmetry-broken topological surface states. By combining different magnetic TIs in a heterostructure, their magnetic and electronic properties can be precisely tuned. Recently, we have combined high-moment Dy:Bi2Te3 with high transition temperature Cr:Sb2Te3 in a superlattice, and we found, using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), that long-range magnetic order can be introduced in the Dy:Bi2Te3 layers. Accompanying first-principles calculations indicated that the origin of the long-range magnetic order is a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between Dy and Cr magnetic moments at the interface extending over several layers. However, based on XMCD alone, which is either averaging over the entire thin-film stack or is surface-sensitive, this coupling scenario could not be fully confirmed. Here we use polarized neutron reflectometry, which is ideally suited for the detailed study of superlattices, to retrieve the magnetization in a layer- and interface resolved way. We find that the magnetization is, in contrast to similar recent studies, homogeneous throughout the individual layers, with no apparent interfacial effects. This finding demonstrates that heterostructure engineering is a powerful way of controlling the magnetic properties of entire layers, with the effects of coupling reaching beyond the interface region.
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Aug 2019
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Open Access
Abstract: Chromium telluride compounds are promising ferromagnets for proximity coupling to magnetic
topological insulators (MTIs) of the Cr-doped (Bi,Sb)2(Se,Te)3 class of materials as they share the same elements, thus simplifying thin film growth, as well as due to their compatible crystal structure.
Recently, it has been demonstrated that high quality (001)-oriented Cr2Te3 thin films with perpendicular
magnetic anisotropy can be grown on c-plane sapphire substrate. Here, we present a magnetic and
soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy study of the chemical and magnetic properties of Cr2Te3 thin films.
X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measured at the Cr L2,3 edges gives information about the
local electronic and magnetic structure of the Cr ions. We further demonstrate the overgrowth of Cr2Te3 (001) thin films by high-quality Cr-doped Sb2Te3 films. The magnetic properties of the layers have been characterized and our results provide a starting point for refining the physical models of the complex magnetic ordering in Cr2Te3 thin films, and their integration into advanced MTI heterostructures for quantum device applications.
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Jul 2019
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Theoretical Physics
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Open Access
Abstract: In 1878, the Dutch physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz first addressed the calculation of the local electric field at an atomic site in a ferroelectric material, generated by all the other electric dipoles within the sample. This calculation, which applies equally well to ferromagnets, is taught in Universities around the World. Here we demonstrate that the Lorentz concept can be used to speed up calculations of the local dipolar field in square, circular, and elliptical shaped monolayers and thin films, not only at the center of the film, but across the sample. Calculations show that long elliptical and rectangular films should exhibit the narrowest ferromagnetic resonance linewidth. In addition, discrete dipole calculations show that the Lorentz cavity field does not hold in tetragonal films. Depending on the ratio (b/a), the local field can be either less/greater than : an observation that has implications for ferromagnetic resonance. 3D simple cubic (SC) systems are also examined. For example, while most texts discuss the Lorentz cavity field in terms of a Lorentz sphere, the Lorentz cavity field still holds when a Lorentz sphere is replaced by a the Lorentz cube, but only in cubic SC, FCC and BCC systems. Finally, while the primary emphasis is on the discrete dipole-dipole interaction, contact is made with the continuum model. For example, in the continuous SC dipole model, just one monolayer is required to generate the Lorentz cavity field. This is in marked contrast to the discrete dipole model, where a minimum of five adjacent monolayers is required.
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Jul 2019
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Abstract: Magnetism in monolayer (ML) VSe2 has attracted broad interest in spintronics, while existing reports have not reached consensus. Using element-specific X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, a magnetic transition in ML VSe2 has been demonstrated at the contamination-free interface between Co and VSe2. Through interfacial hybridization with a Co atomic overlayer, a magnetic moment of about 0.4 μB per V atom in ML VSe2 is revealed, approaching values predicted by previous theoretical calculations. Promotion of the ferromagnetism in ML VSe2 is accompanied by its antiferromagnetic coupling to Co and a reduction in the spin moment of Co. In comparison to the absence of this interface-induced ferromagnetism at the Fe/ML MoSe2 interface, these findings at the Co/ML VSe2 interface provide clear proof that the ML VSe2, initially with magnetic disorder, is on the verge of magnetic transition.
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Jul 2019
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Theoretical Physics
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Abstract: Compulsory Dirac multipoles in the bilayer perovskite Ca3Ru2O7 are absent in published analyses of experimental data. In a first step at correcting knowledge of the magnetic structure, we have analyzed existing Bragg diffraction patterns gathered on samples held well below the Néel temperature at which A-type antiferromagnetic order of axial dipoles spontaneously develops. Patterns were gathered with neutrons, and linearly polarized x rays tuned in energy to a ruthenium atomic resonance. Neutron diffraction data contain solid evidence of Dirac dipoles (anapoles or toroidal moments). No such conclusion is reached with existing x-ray diffraction data, which instead is ambiguous on the question. To address this shortcoming by future experiments, we calculated additional diffraction patterns. Chiral order of Dirac multipoles is allowed by magnetic space-group PCna21, and it can be exposed in Bragg diffraction using circularly polarized x rays. Likewise, a similar experiment can expose a chiral order of axial dipoles. A magnetic field applied parallel to the b axis creates a ferrimagnetic structure in which bulk magnetization arises from field-induced nonequivalent Ru sites (magnetic space-group Pmc21).
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Apr 2019
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Abstract: Previous work has documented time‐ and temperature‐dependent variations in the Curie temperature (Tc) of natural titanomagnetites, independent of any changes in sample composition. To better understand the atomic‐scale processes responsible for these variations, we have generated a set of synthetic titanomagnetites with a range of Ti, Mg, and Al substitution; a subset of samples was additionally oxidized at low temperature (150°C). Samples were annealed at temperatures between 325‐400 °C for up to 1000 h and characterized in terms of magnetic properties; Fe valence and site occupancy were constrained by X‐ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Annealing results in large (up to ~100 °C) changes in Tc, but Mössbauer, XMCD, and saturation magnetization data all demonstrate that intersite reordering of Fe2+/Fe3+ does not play a role in the observed Tc changes. Rather, the data are consistent with vacancy‐enhanced nanoscale chemical clustering within the octahedral sublattice. This clustering may be a precursor to chemical unmixing at temperatures below the titanomagnetite binary solvus. Additionally, the data strongly support a model where cation vacancies are predominantly situated on octahedral sites; Mg‐substitution is largely accommodated on octahedral sites; and Al‐substitution is split between the two sites.
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Apr 2019
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Wen
Zhang
,
Ping Kwan Johnny
Wong
,
Xiaochao
Zhou
,
Ashutosh
Rath
,
Zhaocong
Huang
,
Hongyu
Wang
,
Simon A.
Morton
,
Jiaren
Yuan
,
Lei
Zhang
,
Rebekah
Chua
,
Shengwei
Zeng
,
Er
Liu
,
Feng
Xu
,
Ariando
Ariando
,
Daniel H. C.
Chua
,
Yuan Ping
Feng
,
Gerrit
Van Der Laan
,
Stephen J.
Pennycook
,
Ya
Zhai
,
Andrew T. S.
Wee
Abstract: Ferromagnet/two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide (FM/2D TMD) interfaces provide attractive opportunities to push magnetic information storage to the atomically thin limit. Existing work has focused on FMs contacted with mechanically exfoliated or chemically-vapor-deposition-grown TMDs, where clean interfaces cannot be guaranteed. Here, we report a reliable way to achieve contamination-free interfaces between ferromagnetic CoFeB and molecular-beam epitaxial MoSe2. We show a spin re-orientation arising from the interface, leading to a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), and reveal the CoFeB/2D MoSe2 interface allowing for the PMA development in a broader CoFeB thickness-range than common systems such as CoFeB/MgO. Using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism analysis, we attribute generation of this PMA to interfacial d-d hybridization, and deduce a general rule to enhance its magnitude. We also demonstrate favorable magnetic softness and considerable magnetic moment preserved at the interface, and theoretically predict the interfacial band matching for spin filtering. Our work highlights the CoFeB/2D MoSe2 interface as a promising platform for examination of TMD-based spintronic applications and might stimulate further development with other combination of FM/2D TMD interfaces.
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Feb 2019
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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[20748]
Open Access
Abstract: The recently discovered topological phase offers new possibilities for spintronics and condensed matter. Even insulating material exhibits conductivity at the edges of certain systems, giving rise to an anomalous quantum Hall effect and other coherent spin transport phenomena, in which heat dissipation is minimized, with potential uses for next-generation energy-efficient electronics. While the metallic surface states of topological insulators (TIs) have been extensively studied, direct comparison of the surface and bulk magnetic properties of TIs has been little explored. We report unambiguous evidence for distinctly enhanced surface magnetism in a prototype magnetic TI, Cr-doped Bi2Se3. Using synchrotron-based x-ray techniques, we demonstrate a “three-step transition” model, with a temperature window of ~15 K, where the TI surface is magnetically ordered while the bulk is not. Understanding the dual magnetization process has strong implications for defining a physical modelof magnetic TIs and lays the foundation for applications to information technology.
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Feb 2019
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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[11784, 12958]
Abstract: Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like, topologically protected magnetization entities that are promising candidates for information carriers in racetrack-memory schemes. The transport of skyrmions in a shift-register-like fashion is crucial for their embodiment in practical devices. Recently, we demonstrated experimentally that chiral skyrmions in Cu2OSeO3 can be effectively manipulated by a magnetic field gradient, leading to a collective rotation of the skyrmion lattice with well-defined dynamics in a radial field gradient. Here, we employ a skyrmion particle model to numerically study the effects of resultant shear forces on the structure of the skyrmion lattice. We demonstrate that anisotropic peak broadening in experimentally observed diffraction patterns can be attributed to extended linear regions in the magnetic field profile. We show that topological (5-7) defects emerge to protect the six-fold symmetry of the lattice under the application of local shear forces, further enhancing the stability of proposed magnetic field driven devices.
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Jan 2019
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Abstract: Nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NIXS) has been performed on single crystals of UO2 to study the directional dependence of higher-order-multipole scattering from the uranium O4,5 edges (90-110 eV). By comparing the experimental results with theoretical calculations the symmetry of the ground state is confirmed directly as the crystal-field (CF) Γ5 triplet state within the J = 4 manifold. The results demonstrate that the directional dichroism of the NIXS spectra is sensitive to the CF strength and establish NIXS as a tool for probing CF interactions quantitatively.
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Nov 2018
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