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Abstract: We identify room-temperature converse magnetoelectric effects (CMEs) that are non-volatile by using a single-crystal substrate of PMN–PT (001)pc (pc denotes pseudocubic) to impart voltage-driven strain to a polycrystalline film of Ni. An appropriate magnetic-field history enhances the magnetoelectric coefficient to a near-record peak of ∼10−6 s m−1 and permits electrically driven magnetization reversal of substantial net magnetization. In zero magnetic field, electrically driven ferroelectric domain switching produces large changes of in-plane magnetization that are non-volatile. Microscopically, these changes are accompanied by the creation and destruction of magnetic stripe domains, implying the electrical control of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Moreover, the stripe direction can be rotated by a magnetic field or an electric field, the latter yielding the first example of electrically driven rotatable magnetic anisotropy. The observed CMEs are associated with repeatable ferroelectric domain switching that yields a memory effect. This memory effect is well known for PMN–PT (110)pc but not PMN–PT (001)pc. Given that close control of the applied field is not required as for PMN–PT (110)pc, this memory effect could lead the way to magnetoelectric memories based on PMN–PT (001)pc membranes that switch at low voltage.
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Apr 2021
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I06-Nanoscience
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Richard W.
Dawidek
,
Thomas J.
Hayward
,
Ian T.
Vidamour
,
Thomas J.
Broomhall
,
Guru
Venkat
,
Mohanad Al
Mamoori
,
Aidan
Mullen
,
Stephan J.
Kyle
,
Paul W.
Fry
,
Nina-Juliane
Steinke
,
Joshaniel F. K.
Cooper
,
Francesco
Maccherozzi
,
Sarnjeet S.
Dhesi
,
Lucia
Aballe
,
Michael
Foerster
,
Jordi
Prat
,
Eleni
Vasilaki
,
Matthew O. A.
Ellis
,
Dan A.
Allwood
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[24205]
Open Access
Abstract: Emergent behaviors occur when simple interactions between a system's constituent elements produce properties that the individual elements do not exhibit in isolation. This article reports tunable emergent behaviors observed in domain wall (DW) populations of arrays of interconnected magnetic ring‐shaped nanowires under an applied rotating magnetic field. DWs interact stochastically at ring junctions to create mechanisms of DW population loss and gain. These combine to give a dynamic, field‐dependent equilibrium DW population that is a robust and emergent property of the array, despite highly varied local magnetic configurations. The magnetic ring arrays’ properties (e.g., non‐linear behavior, “fading memory” to changes in field, fabrication repeatability, and scalability) suggest they are an interesting candidate system for realizing reservoir computing (RC), a form of neuromorphic computing, in hardware. By way of example, simulations of ring arrays performing RC approaches 100% success in classifying spoken digits for single speakers.
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Feb 2021
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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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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[17480]
Abstract: The combination of topological properties and magnetic order can lead to new quantum states and exotic physical phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect. The size of the magnetic gap in the topological surface states, key for the robust observation of the QAH state, scales with the magnetic moment of the doped three-dimensional topological insulator (TI). The pioneering transition-metal doped (Sb,Bi)2(Se,Te)3 thin films only allow for the observation of the QAH effect up to some 100 mK, despite the much higher magnetic ordering temperatures. On the other hand, high magnetic moment materials, such as rare-earth-doped (Sb,Bi)2(Se,Te)3 thin films, show large moments but no long-range magnetic order. Proximity coupling and interfacial effects, multiplied in artificial heterostructures, allowfor the engineering of the electronic and magnetic properties. Here, we show the successful growth of high-quality Dy:Bi2Te3/Cr:Sb2Te3 thin film heterostructures. Using x-ray magnetic spectroscopy we demonstrate that high transition temperature Cr:Sb2Te3 can introduce long-range magnetic order in high-moment Dy:Bi2Te3—upto a temperature of 17 K—in excellent agreement with first-principles calculations,which reveal the origin of the long-range magnetic order in a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between Dy and Cr magnetic moments at the interface extending over several layers. Engineered magnetic TI heterostructures may be an ideal materials platform for observing the QAH effect at liquid He temperatures and above.
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May 2018
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L. B.
Duffy
,
N.-j.
Steinke
,
J. A.
Krieger
,
A. I.
Figueroa
,
K.
Kummer
,
T.
Lancaster
,
S. R.
Giblin
,
F. L.
Pratt
,
S. J.
Blundell
,
T.
Prokscha
,
A.
Suter
,
Sean
Langridge
,
V. N.
Strocov
,
Z.
Salman
,
G.
Van Der Laan
,
T.
Hesjedal
Abstract: Magnetic doping with transition metal ions is the most widely used approach to break time-reversal symmetry in a topological insulator (TI)—a prerequisite for unlocking the TI’s exotic potential. Recently, we reported the doping of Bi2Te3 thin films with rare-earth ions, which, owing to their large magnetic moments, promise commensurately large magnetic gap openings in the topological surface states. However, only when doping with Dy has a sizable gap been observed in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which persists up to room temperature. Although disorder alone could be ruled out as a cause of the topological phase transition, a fundamental understanding of the magnetic and electronic properties of Dy-doped Bi2Te3 remained elusive.Here, we present an x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, polarized neutron reflectometry, muon-spin rotation, and resonant photoemission study of the microscopic magnetic and electronic properties. We find that the films are not simply paramagnetic but that instead the observed behavior can be well explained by the assumption of slowly fluctuating, inhomogeneous, magnetic patches with increasing volume fraction as the temperature decreases. At liquid helium temperatures, a large effective magnetization can be easily introduced by the application of moderate magnetic fields, implying that this material is very suitable for proximity coupling to an underlying ferromagnetic insulator or in a heterostructure with transition-metal-doped layers. However, the introduction of some charge carriers by the Dy dopants cannot be excluded at least in these highly doped samples. Nevertheless, we find that the magnetic order is not mediated via the conduction channel in these samples and therefore magnetic order and carrier concentration are expected to be independently controllable. This is not generally the case for transition-metal-doped topological insulators, and Dy doping should thus allow for improved TI quantum devices.
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May 2018
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B18-Core EXAFS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[15702]
Open Access
Abstract: Using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy we determined the chemical and magnetic properties of the magnetic topological insulator (MTI) Cr:Sb2Te3. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the Cr L2,3, Te M4,5, and Sb M4,5 edges shows that the Te 5p moment is aligned antiparallel to both the Cr 3d and Sb 5p moments, which is characteristic for carrier-mediated ferromagnetic coupling. Comparison of the Cr L2,3 spectra with multiplet calculations indicates a hybridized Cr state, consistent with the carrier-mediated coupling scenario. We studied the enhancement of the Curie temperature, TC, of the MTI thin film through the magnetic proximity effect. Arrott plots, measured using the Cr L3 XMCD, show a TC ≈ 87 K for the as-cleaved film. After deposition of a thin layer of ferromagnetic Co onto the surface, the TC increases to ∼93 K, while the Co and Cr moments are parallel. This increase in TC is unexpectedly small compared to similar systems reported earlier. The XMCD spectra demonstrate that the Co/MTI interface remains intact, i.e., no reaction between Co and the MTI takes place. Our results are a useful starting point for refining the physical models of Cr-doped Sb2Te3, which is required for making use of them in device applications.
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Jun 2017
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Open Access
Abstract: Styrene-alt-maleic acid lipid particles (SMALPs) are self-assembled discoidal structures composed of a polymer belt and a segment of lipid bilayer, which are capable of encapsulating membrane proteins directly from the cell membrane. Here we present evidence of the exchange of lipids between such “nanodiscs” and lipid monolayers adsorbed at either solid–liquid or air–liquid interfaces. This behavior has important implications for the potential uses of nanodiscs.
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Nov 2016
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Magnets
Theoretical Physics
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L. J.
Collins-mcintyre
,
L. B.
Duffy
,
A.
Singh
,
N-j
Steinke
,
C. J.
Kinane
,
T. R.
Charlton
,
A.
Pushp
,
A. J.
Kellock
,
S. S. P.
Parkin
,
S. N.
Holmes
,
C. H. W.
Barnes
,
G.
Van Der Laan
,
S.
Langridge
,
T.
Hesjedal
Open Access
Abstract: We report the structural, electronic, and magnetic study of Cr-doped Sb2Te3 thin films grown by a two-step deposition process using molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). The samples were investigated using a variety of complementary techniques, namely, x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy, SQUID magnetometry, magneto-transport, and polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR). It is found that the samples retain good crystalline order up to a doping level of x = 0.42 (in CrxSb2−xTe3), above which degradation of the crystal structure is observed by XRD. Fits to the recorded XRD spectra indicate a general reduction in the c-axis lattice parameter as a function of doping, consistent with substitutional doping with an ion of smaller ionic radius. The samples show soft ferromagnetic behavior with the easy axis of magnetization being out-of-plane. The saturation magnetization is dependent on the doping level, and reaches from 2 μB to almost 3 μB per Cr ion. The transition temperature (Tc) depends strongly on the Cr concentration and is found to increase with doping concentration. For the highest achievable doping level for phase pure films of x = 0.42, a Tc of 125K was determined. Electric transport measurements find surface-dominated transport below 10K. The magnetic properties extracted from anomalous Hall effect data are in excellent agreement with the magnetometry data. PNR studies indicate a uniform magnetization profile throughout the film, with no indication of enhanced magnetic order towards the sample surface.
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Sep 2016
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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[9234]
Open Access
Abstract: Magnetic skyrmion materials have the great advantage of a robust topological magnetic structure, which makes them stable against the superparamagnetic effect and therefore a candidate for the next-generation of spintronic memory devices. Bulk MnSi, with an ordering temperature of 29.5 K, is a typical skyrmion system with a propagation vector periodicity of ∼18 nm. One crucial prerequisite for any kind of application, however, is the observation and precise control of skyrmions in thin films at room-temperature. Strain in epitaxial MnSi thin films is known to raise the transition temperature to 43 K. Here we show, using magnetometry and x-ray spectroscopy, that the transition temperature can be raised further through proximity coupling to a ferromagnetic layer. Similarly, the external field required to stabilize the helimagnetic phase is lowered. Transmission electron microscopy with element-sensitive detection is used to explore the structural origin of ferromagnetism in these Mn-doped substrates. Our work suggests that an artificial pinning layer, not limited to the MnSi/Si system, may enable room temperature, zero-field skyrmion thin-film systems, thereby opening the door to device applications.
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Jan 2016
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I06-Nanoscience
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Massimo
Ghidini
,
Francesco
Maccherozzi
,
Xavier
Moya
,
Lee
Phillips
,
Wenjing
Yan
,
Jordane
Soussi
,
Nicolas
Métallier
,
Mary
Vickers
,
Nina -j.
Steinke
,
Rhodri
Mansell
,
Crispin
Barnes
,
Sarnjeet
Dhesi
,
Neil
Mathur
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[8325]
Open Access
Abstract: High-resolution magnetoelectric imaging is used to demonstrate electrical control of the perpendicular local magnetization associated with 125 nm-wide magnetic stripe domains in 100-nm-thick Ni films. This magnetoelectric coupling is achieved in zero magnetic field using strain from ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrates to control perpendicular anisotropy imposed by the growth stress. These findings may be exploited for perpendicular recording in nanopatterned hybrid media.
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Jan 2015
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