Nanoscale quantum imaging of field-free deterministic switching of a chiral antiferromagnet

Abstract

Recently, unconventional spin-orbit torques (SOTs) with tunable spin generation open new pathways for designing novel magnetization control for cutting-edge spintronics innovations. A leading research thrust is to develop field-free deterministic magnetization switching for implementing scalable and energy favorable magnetic recording and storage applications, which have been demonstrated in conventional ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic material systems. Here we extend this advanced magnetization control strategy to chiral antiferromagnet Mn3Sn using spin currents with out-of-plane canted polarization generated from low-symmetry van der Waals (vdW) material WTe2. Numerical calculations suggest that damping-like SOT of spins injected perpendicular to the kagome plane of Mn3Sn serves as a driving force to rotate the chiral magnetic order, while the field-like SOT of spin currents with polarization parallel to the kagome plane provides the bipolar deterministicity to the magnetic switching. We further introduce scanning quantum microscopy to visualize nanoscale evolutions of Mn3Sn magnetic domains during the field-free switching process, corroborating the exceptionally large magnetic switching ratio up to 90%. Our results highlight the opportunities provided by hybrid SOT material platforms consisting of noncollinear antiferromagnets and low-symmetry vdW spin source materials for developing next-generation, transformative spintronic logic devices.

References in corpus (13)

• Electrical Manipulation of a Topological Antiferromagnetic State
• Observation of spin-splitter torque in collinear antiferromagnetic RuO${}_2$
• Imaging non-collinear antiferromagnetic textures via single spin relaxometry
• Quantum sensing and imaging of spin-orbit-torque-driven spin dynamics in noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn
• Deterministic and non-volatile switching of all-van der Waals spin-orbit torque system above room temperature without external magnetic fields
• Magnetization switching in polycrystalline Mn3Sn thin film induced by self-generated spin-polarized current
• Observation of current whirlpools in graphene at room temperature
• Time-dependent multistate switching of topological antiferromagnetic order in Mn${}_3$Sn
• Observation of stacking engineered magnetic phase transitions within moiré supercells of twisted van der Waals magnets
• Spin-Torque-driven Terahertz Auto Oscillations in Non-Collinear Coplanar Antiferromagnets
• Nanoscale magnetic domains in polycrystalline Mn3Sn films imaged by a scanning single-spin magnetometer
• Spin dynamics of a solid-state qubit in proximity to a superconductor
• Electronic chiralization as an indicator of the anomalous Hall effect in unconventional magnetic systems