No Arabic abstract
We report current-direction dependent or unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) in magnetic/nonmagnetic topological insulator (TI) heterostructures, Cr$_x$(Bi$_{1-y}$Sb$_y$)$_{2-x}$Te$_3$/(Bi$_{1-y}$Sb$_y$)$_2$Te$_3$, that is several orders of magnitude larger than in other reported systems. From the magnetic field and temperature dependence, the UMR is identified to originate from the asymmetric scattering of electrons by magnons. In particular, the large magnitude of UMR is an outcome of spin-momentum locking and a small Fermi wavenumber at the surface of TI. In fact, the UMR is maximized around the Dirac point with the minimal Fermi wavenumber.
Large unsaturated magnetoresistance (XMR) with magnitude about 1000% is observed in topological insulator candidate TaSe3 from our high field (up to 38 T) measurements. Two oscillation modes, associated with one hole pocket and two electron pockets in the bulk, respectively, are detected from our Shubnikov-de Hass (SdH) measurements, consistent with our first-principles calculations. With the detailed Hall measurements performed, our two-band model analysis exhibits an imperfect density ratio n_h/n_e closing 0.9 at T< 20 K , which suggests that the carrier compensations account for the XMR in TaSe3.
Relating magnetotransport properties to specific spin textures at surfaces or interfaces is an intense field of research nowadays. Here, we investigate the variation of the electrical resistance of Ge(111) grown epitaxially on semi-insulating Si(111) under the application of an external magnetic field. We find a magnetoresistance term which is linear in current density j and magnetic field B, hence odd in j and B, corresponding to a unidirectional magnetoresistance. At 15 K, for I = 10 $mu$A (or j = 0.33 A/m) and B = 1 T, it represents 0.5 % of the zero field resistance, a much higher value compared to previous reports on unidirectional magnetoresistance. We ascribe the origin of this magnetoresistance to the interplay between the externally applied magnetic field and the current-induced pseudo-magnetic field in the spin-splitted subsurface states of Ge(111). This unidirectional magnetoresistance is independent of the current direction with respect to the Ge crystal axes. It progressively vanishes, either using a negative gate voltage due to carrier activation into the bulk (without spin-splitted bands), or by increasing the temperature due to the Rashba energy splitting of the subsurface states lower than $sim$58 k$_B$. The highly developed technologies on semiconductor platforms would allow the rapid optimization of devices based on this phenomenon.
The unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) is one of the most complex spin-dependent transport phenomena in ferromagnet/non-magnet bilayers, which involves spin injection and accumulation due to the spin Hall effect (SHE) or Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE), spin-dependent scattering, and magnon scattering at the interface or in the bulk of the ferromagnet. While UMR in metallic bilayers has been studied extensively in very recent years, its magnitude is as small as 10$^-$$^5$, which is too small for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a giant UMR effect in a heterostructure of BiSb topological insulator -- GaMnAs ferromagnetic semiconductor. We obtained a large UMR ratio of 1.1%, and found that this giant UMR is governed not by the giant magnetoresistance (GMR)-like spin-dependent scattering, but by magnon emission/absorption and strong spin-disorder scattering in the GaMnAs layer. Our results provide new insight into the complex physics of UMR, as well as a strategy for enhancing its magnitude for device applications.
Thanks to its unique symmetry, the unidirectional spin Hall and Rashba-Edelstein magnetoresistance (USRMR) is of great fundamental and practical interest, particularly in the context of reading magnetization states in two-terminal spin-orbit torque switching memory and logic devices. Recent studies show that topological insulators could improve USRMR amplitude. However, the topological insulator device configurations studied so far in this context, namely ferromagnetic metal/topological insulator bilayers and magnetically doped topological insulators, suffer from current shunting by the metallic layer and low Curie temperature, respectively. Here, we report large USRMR in a new material category - magnetic insulator/topological insulator bi-layered heterostructures. Such structures exhibit USRMR that is about an order of magnitude larger than the highest values reported so far in all-metal Ta/Co bilayers. We also demonstrate current-induced magnetization switching aided by an Oersted field, and electrical read out by the USRMR, as a prototype memory device.
A topological insulator (TI) interfaced with a magnetic insulator (MI) may host an anomalous Hall effect (AHE), a quantum AHE, and a topological Hall effect (THE). Recent studies, however, suggest that coexisting magnetic phases in TI/MI heterostructures may result in an AHE-associated response that resembles a THE but in fact is not. This article reports a genuine THE in a TI/MI structure that has only one magnetic phase. The structure shows a THE in the temperature range of T=2-3 K and an AHE at T=80-300 K. Over T=3-80 K, the two effects coexist but show opposite temperature dependencies. Control measurements, calculations, and simulations together suggest that the observed THE originates from skyrmions, rather than the coexistence of two AHE responses. The skyrmions are formed due to an interfacial DMI interaction. The DMI strength estimated is substantially higher than that in heavy metal-based systems.