No Arabic abstract
The tunnelling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect describes the sensitivity of spin-polarized electron transport to the orientation of the magnetization with respect to the crystallographic axes. As the TAMR effect requires only a single magnetic electrode, in contrast to the tunnelling magnetoresistance effect, it offers an attractive route towards alternative spintronics applications. In this work we consider the TAMR effect at the single-atom limit by investigating the anisotropy of the local density of states in the vacuum above transition-metal adatoms adsorbed on a noncollinear magnetic surface, the monolayer of Mn on W(110). This surface presents a cycloidal spin spiral ground state with an angle of 173$^circ$ between neighbouring spins and thus allows a quasi-continuous exploration of the angular dependence of the TAMR of adsorbed adatoms using scanning tunnelling microscopy. Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the TAMR of Co, Rh and Ir adatoms on Mn/W(110) and relate our results to magnetization direction dependent changes in the local density of states. The anisotropic effect is found to be enhanced dramatically on the adsorption of heavy transition-metal atoms, with values of up to 50% predicted from our calculations. This effect will be measurable even with a non-magnetic STM tip.
The nature of the magnetism brought about by Fe adatoms on the surface of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 was examined in terms of density functional calculations. The Fe adatoms exhibit strong easy-axis magnetic anisotropy in the dilute adsorption limit due to the topological surface states (TSS). The spin exchange J between the Fe adatoms follows a Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) behavior with substantial anisotropy, and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction between them is quite strong with |D/J|~0.3 under the mediation by the TSS, and can be further raised to ~0.6 by an external electric field. The apparent single-ion anisotropy of a Fe adatom is indispensable in determining the spin orientation.
Results of first-principles calculations of the Fe/GaAs/Ag(001) epitaxial tunnel junctions reveal that hybridization of interface resonances formed at both interfaces can enhance the tunnelling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) of the systems. This mechanism is manifested by a non-monotonic dependence of the TAMR effect on the thickness of the tunnel barrier, with a maximum for intermediate thicknesses. A detailed scan of k-resolved transmissions over the two-dimensional Brillouin zone proves an interplay between a few hybridization-induced hot spots and a contribution to the tunnelling from the vicinity of the Gamma-bar point. This interpretation is supported by calculated properties of a simple tight-binding model of the junction which reproduce qualitatively most of the features of the first-principles theory.
A developing frontier in condensed matter physics is the emergence of novel electromagnetic responses, such as topological and anomalous Hall effect (AHE), in ferromagnetic Weyl semimetals (FM-WSMs). Candidates of FM-WSM are limited to materials that preserve inversion symmetry and generate Weyl crossings by breaking time-reversal symmetry. These materials share three common features: a centrosymmetric lattice, a collinear FM ordering, and a large AHE observed when the field is parallel to the magnetic easy-axis. Here, we present CeAlSi as a new type of FM-WSM, where the Weyl nodes are stabilized by breaking inversion symmetry, but their positions are tuned by breaking time-reversal symmetry. Unlike the other FM-WSMs, CeAlSi has a noncentrosymmetric lattice, a noncollinear FM ordering, and a novel AHE that is anisotropic between the easy- and hard-axes. It also exhibits large FM domains that are promising for both device applications and an interplay between the Weyl nodes and FM domain walls.
The independent control of two magnetic electrodes and spin-coherent transport in magnetic tunnel junctions are strictly required for tunneling magnetoresistance, while junctions with only one ferromagnetic electrode exhibit tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance dependent on the anisotropic density of states with no room temperature performance so far. Here we report an alternative approach to obtaining tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in alfa-FeRh-based junctions driven by the magnetic phase transition of alfa-FeRh and resultantly large variation of the density of states in the vicinity of MgO tunneling barrier, referred to as phase transition tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance. The junctions with only one alfa-FeRh magnetic electrode show a magnetoresistance ratio up to 20% at room temperature. Both the polarity and magnitude of the phase transition tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance can be modulated by interfacial engineering at the alfa-FeRh/MgO interface. Besides the fundamental significance, our finding might add a different dimension to magnetic random access memory and antiferromagnet spintronics.
We introduce a new class of spintronics devices in which a spin-valve like effect results from strong spin-orbit coupling in a single ferromagnetic layer rather than from injection and detection of a spin-polarized current by two coupled ferromagnets. The effect is observed in a normal-metal/insulator/ferromagnetic-semiconductor tunneling device. This behavior is caused by the interplay of the anisotropic density of states in (Ga,Mn)As with respect to the magnetization direction, and the two-step magnetization reversal process in this material.