No Arabic abstract
The realization of four-fold anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in novel 3d-5d heterostructures has boosted major efforts in antiferromagnetic spintronics. However, despite the potential of incorporating strong spin-orbit coupling, only small AMR signals have been detected thus far, prompting a search for new mechanisms to enhance the signal. In this study on CaMnO3/CaIrO3 heterostructures, we report a unique dual-four-fold symmetric 70% AMR; a signal two orders of magnitude larger than previously observed in similar systems. We find that one order is enhanced by tuning a large biaxial anisotropy through octahedral tilts of similar sense in the constituent layers, while the second order is triggered by a spin-flop transition in a nearly Mott-type phase. Dynamics between these two phenomena as evidenced by the step-like AMR and a superimposed biaxial-anisotropy-induced AMR capture a subtle interplay of pseudospin coupling with the lattice and external magnetic field. Our study shows that a combination of charge-transfer, interlayer coupling, and a spin-flop transition can yield a giant AMR relevant for sensing and antiferromagnetic memory applications.
An unusual crystallographic orientation of hexagonal Ru with a 4-fold symmetry emerging in epitaxial MgO/Ru/Co2FeAl/MgO heterostructures is reported, in which an approximately Ru(02-23) growth attributes to the lattice matching among MgO, Ru, and Co2FeAl. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the Co2FeAl/MgO interface is substantially enhanced as compared with those with a Cr(001) layer. The MTJs incorporating this structure gave rise to the largest tunnel magnetoresistance for perpendicular MTJs using low damping Heusler alloys. The 4-fold-symmetry hexagonal Ru arises from an epitaxial growth with an unprecedentedly high crystal index, opening a unique pathway for the development of perpendicular anisotropy films of cubic and tetragonal ferromagnetic alloys.
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.
Antiferromagnets have been generating intense interest in the spintronics community, owing to their intrinsic appealing properties like zero stray field and ultrafast spin dynamics. While the control of antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders has been realized by various means, applicably appreciated functionalities on the readout side of AFM-based devices are urgently desired. Here, we report the remarkably enhanced anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) as giant as ~ 160% in a simple resistor structure made of AFM Sr2IrO4 without auxiliary reference layer. The underlying mechanism for the giant AMR is an indispensable combination of atomic scale giant-MR-like effect and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy, which was not accessed earlier. Furthermore, we demonstrate the bistable nonvolatile memory states that can be switched in-situ without the inconvenient heat-assisted procedure, and robustly preserved even at zero magnetic field, due to the modified interlayer coupling by 1% Ga-doping in Sr2IrO4. These findings represent a straightforward step toward the AFM spintronic devices.
Anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR), originating from spin-orbit coupling (SOC), is the sensitivity of the electrical resistance in magnetic systems to the direction of spin magnetization. Although this phenomenon has been experimentally reported for several nanoscale junctions, a clear understanding of the physical mechanism behind it is still elusive. Here we discuss a novel concept based on orbital symmetry considerations to attain a significant AMR of up to 95% for a broad class of $pi$-type molecular spin-valves. It is illustrated at the benzene-dithiolate molecule connected between two monoatomic nickel electrodes. We find that SOC opens, via spin-flip events at the ferromagnet-molecule interface, a new conduction channel, which is fully blocked by symmetry without SOC. Importantly, the interplay between main and new transport channels turns out to depend strongly on the magnetization direction in the nickel electrodes due to the tilting of molecular orbital. Moreover, due to multi-band quantum interference, appearing at the band edge of nickel electrodes, a transmission drop is observed just above the Fermi energy. Altogether, these effects lead to a significant AMR around the Fermi level, which even changes a sign. Our theoretical understanding, corroborated in terms of textit{ab initio} calculations and simplified analytical models, reveals the general principles for an efficient realization of AMR in molecule-based spintronic devices.
Empowering conventional materials with unexpected magnetoelectric properties is appealing to the multi-functionalization of existing devices and the exploration of future electronics. Recently, owing to its unique effect in modulating a matters properties, ultra-small dopants, e.g. H, D, and Li, attract enormous attention in creating emergent functionalities, such as superconductivity, and metal-insulator transition. Here, we report an observation of bipolar conduction accompanied by a giant positive magnetoresistance in D-doped metallic Ti oxide (TiOxDy) films. To overcome the challenges in intercalating the D into a crystalline oxide, a series of TiOxDy were formed by sequentially doping Ti with D and surface/interface oxidation. Intriguingly, while the electron mobility of the TiOxDy increases by an order of magnitude larger after doping, the emergent holes also exhibit high mobility. Moreover, the bipolar conduction induces a giant magnetoresistance up to 900% at 6 T, which is ~6 times higher than its conventional phase. Our study paves a way to empower conventional materials in existing electronics and induce novel electronic phases.