Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films

Abstract

We demonstrate stable and reversible current induced switching of large-area ($>100\mu m^2$) antiferromagnetic domains in NiO/Pt by performing concurrent transport and magneto-optical imaging measurements in an adapted Kerr microscope. By correlating the magnetic images of the antiferromagnetic domain changes and magneto-transport signal response in these current-induced switching experiments, we disentangle magnetic and non-magnetic contributions to the transport signal. Our table-top approach establishes a robust procedure to subtract the non-magnetic contributions in the transport signal and extract the spin-Hall magnetoresistance response associated with the switching of the antiferromagnetic domains enabling one to deduce details of the antiferromagnetic switching from simple transport measurements.

12+2 pages, 3+2 figures, V2: Corrected equation for R_transv calculation, results unaffected

References in corpus (4)

• Writing and Reading antiferromagnetic Mn${}_2$Au: Néel spin-orbit torques and large anisotropic magnetoresistance
• Electrical Manipulation of a Topological Antiferromagnetic State
• Negative spin Hall magnetoresistance of Pt on the bulk easy-plane antiferromagnet NiO
• Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films