No Arabic abstract
We propose two-dimensional (2D) Ising-type ferromagnetic semiconductors TcSiTe3, TcGeSe3, and TcGeTe3 with high Curie temperatures around 200-0500 K. Owing to large spin-orbit couplings, the large magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE), large anomalous Hall conductivity, and large magneto-optical Kerr effect were discovered in these intriguing 2D materials. By comparing all possible 2D MGeTe3 materials (M = 3d, 4d, 5d transition metals), we found a large orbital moment around 0.5 $mu$B per atom and a large MAE for TcGeTe3. The large orbital moments are revealed to be from the comparable crystal fields and electron correlations in these Tc-based 2D materials. The microscopic mechanism of the high Curie temperature is also addressed. Our findings reveal the unique magnetic behaviors of 2D Tc-based materials and present a family of 2D ferromagnetic semiconductors with large MAE and Kerr rotation angles that would have wide applications in designing spintronic devices.
Materials with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) effect with high Curie temperature ($T_C$) is essential in applications. In this work, $Cr_2Te_3$ thin films showing PMA with $T_C$ ranging from 165 K to 295 K were successfully grown on $Al_2O_3$ by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. The structural analysis, magneto-transport and magnetic characterizations were conducted to study the physical origin of the improved $T_C$. In particular, ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering competition were investigated. A phenomenological model based on the coupling degree between FM and AFM ordering was proposed to explain the observed $T_C$ enhancement. Our findings indicate that the $T_C$ of $Cr_2Te_3$ thin film can be tuned, which make it hold the potential for various magnetic applications.
Interest in two dimensional materials has exploded in recent years. Not only are they studied due to their novel electronic properties, such as the emergent Dirac Fermion in graphene, but also as a new paradigm in which stacking layers of distinct two dimensional materials may enable different functionality or devices. Here, through first-principles theory, we reveal a large new class of two dimensional materials which are derived from traditional III-V, II-VI, and I-VII semiconductors. It is found that in the ultra-thin limit all of the traditional binary semi-conductors studied (a series of 26 semiconductors) stabilize in a two dimensional double layer honeycomb (DLHC) structure, as opposed to the wurtzite or zinc-blende structures associated with three dimensional bulk. Not only does this greatly increase the landscape of two-dimensional materials, but it is shown that in the double layer honeycomb form, even ordinary semiconductors, such as GaAs, can exhibit exotic topological properties.
Tuning topological and magnetic properties of materials by applying an electric field is widely used in spintronics. In this work, we find a topological phase transition from topologically trivial to nontrivial states at an external electric field of about 0.1 V/A in MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ monolayer that is a topologically trivial ferromagnetic semiconductor. It is shown that when electric field increases from 0 to 0.15 V/A, the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) increases from about 0.1 to 6.3 meV, and the Curie temperature Tc increases from 13 to about 61 K. The increased MAE mainly comes from the enhanced spin-orbit coupling due to the applied electric field. The enhanced Tc can be understood from the enhanced $p$-$d$ hybridization and decreased energy difference between $p$ orbitals of Te atoms and $d$ orbitals of Mn atoms. Moreover, we propose two novel Janus materials MnBi$_2$Se$_2$Te$_2$ and MnBi$_2$S$_2$Te$_2$ monolayers with different internal electric polarizations, which can realize quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) with Chern numbers $C$=1 and $C$=2, respectively. Our study not only exposes the electric field induced exotic properties of MnBi2Te4 monolayer, but also proposes novel materials to realize QAHE in ferromagnetic Janus semiconductors with electric polarization.
Ferromagnetic topological insulators exhibit the quantum anomalous Hall effect that might be used for high precision metrology and edge channel spintronics. In conjunction with superconductors, they could host chiral Majorana zero modes which are among the contenders for the realization of topological qubits. Recently, it was discovered that the stable 2+ state of Mn enables the formation of intrinsic magnetic topological insulators with A1B2C4 stoichiometry. However, the first representative, MnBi2Te4, is antiferromagnetic with 25 K Neel temperature and strongly n-doped. Here, we show that p-type MnSb2Te4, previously considered topologically trivial, is a ferromagnetic topological insulator in the case of a few percent of Mn excess. It shows (i) a ferromagnetic hysteresis with record high Curie temperature of 45-50 K, (ii) out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy and (iii) a two-dimensional Dirac cone with the Dirac point close to the Fermi level which features (iv) out-of-plane spin polarization as revealed by photoelectron spectroscopy and (v) a magnetically induced band gap that closes at the Curie temperature as demonstrated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Moreover, it displays (vi) a critical exponent of magnetization beta~1, indicating the vicinity of a quantum critical point. Ab initio band structure calculations reveal that the slight excess of Mn that substitutionally replaces Sb atoms provides the ferromagnetic interlayer coupling. Remaining deviations from the ferromagnetic order, likely related to this substitution, open the inverted bulk band gap and render MnSb2Te4 a robust topological insulator and new benchmark for magnetic topological insulators.
We propose paramagnetic semiconductors as active media for refrigeration at cryogenic temperatures by adiabatic demagnetization. The paramagnetism of impurity dopants or structural defects can provide the entropy necessary for refrigeration at cryogenic temperatures. We present a simple model for the theoretical limitations to specific entropy and cooling power achievable by demagnetization of various semiconductor systems. Performance comparable to that of the hydrate (CMN) is predicted.