Magneto-Seebeck microscopy of domain switching in collinear antiferromagnet CuMnAs

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.4.094413

Authors: T. Janda (Charles University; University of Regensburg) , J. Godinho (Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences; Charles University) , T. Ostatnicky (Charles University) , E. Pfitzner (Freie Universität Berlin) , G. Ulrich (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) , A. Hoehl (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) , S. Reimers (University of Nottingham) , Z. Šobáň (Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Science) , T. Metzger (University of Regensburg) , H. Reichlová (Technische Universität Dresden) , V. Novák (Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences) , R. P. Campion (University of Nottingham) , J. Heberle (Freie Universität Berlin) , P. Wadley (University of Nottingham) , K. W. Edmonds (University of Nottingham) , O. J. Amin (University of Nottingham) , J. S. Chauhan (University of Nottingham) , S. S. Dhesi (Diamond Light Source) , F. Maccherozzi (Diamond Light Source) , R. M. Otxoa (Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory; Donostia International Physics Center) , P. E. Roy (Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory) , K. Olejník (Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences) , P. Němec (Charles University) , T. Jungwirth (Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences; University of Nottingham) , B. Kaestner (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) , J. Wunderlich (University of Regensburg; Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences)
Co-authored by industrial partner: Yes

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Physical Review Materials , VOL 4

State: Published (Approved)
Published: September 2020
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 22437 , 16376 , 20793

Abstract: Antiferromagnets offer spintronic device characteristics unparalleled in ferromagnets owing to their lack of stray fields, THz spin dynamics, and rich materials landscape. Microscopic imaging of antiferromagnetic domains is one of the key prerequisites for understanding physical principles of the device operation. However, adapting common magnetometry techniques to the dipolar-field-free antiferromagnets has been a major challenge. Here we demonstrate in a collinear antiferromagnet a thermoelectric detection method by combining the magneto-Seebeck effect with local heat gradients generated by scanning far-field or near-field techniques. In a 20-nm epilayer of uniaxial CuMnAs we observe reversible 180 ∘ switching of the Néel vector via domain wall displacement, controlled by the polarity of the current pulses. We also image polarity-dependent 90 ∘ switching of the Néel vector in a thicker biaxial film, and domain shattering induced at higher pulse amplitudes. The antiferromagnetic domain maps obtained by our laboratory technique are compared to measurements by the established synchrotron-based technique of x-ray photoemission electron microscopy using x-ray magnetic linear dichroism.

Journal Keywords: Antiferromagnetism; Magnetic domains; Seebeck effect; Spintronics; Antiferromagnets; Atomic force microscopy; Near-field optical spectroscopy; Scanning techniques

Diamond Keywords: Spintronics; Data Storage; Antiferromagnetism

Subject Areas: Physics, Materials, Information and Communication Technology


Instruments: I06-Nanoscience

Added On: 30/09/2020 16:04

Discipline Tags:

Quantum Materials Hard condensed matter - electronic properties Physics Electronics Components & Micro-systems Information & Communication Technologies Magnetism Materials Science

Technical Tags:

Microscopy Spectroscopy Electron Microscopy (EM) PhotoEmmission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) Linear Dichroism (LD) X-ray Magnetic Linear Dichroism (XMLD)