Di Yi

Room-temperature antiferromagnetic memory resistor.

The bistability of ordered spin states in ferromagnets provides the basis for magnetic memory functionality. The latest generation of magnetic random access memories rely on an efficient approach in which magnetic fields are replaced by electrical means for writing and reading the information in ferromagnets. This concept may eventually reduce the sensitivity of ferromagnets to magnetic field perturbations to being a weakness for data retention and the ferromagnetic stray fields to an obstacle for high-density memory integration. Here we report a room-temperature bistable antiferromagnetic (AFM) memory that produces negligible stray fields and is insensitive to strong magnetic fields. We use a resistor made of a FeRh AFM, which orders ferromagnetically roughly 100 K above room temperature, and therefore allows us to set different collective directions for the Fe moments by applied magnetic field. On cooling to room temperature, AFM order sets in with the direction of the AFM moments predetermined by the field and moment direction in the high-temperature ferromagnetic state. For electrical reading, we use an AFM analogue of the anisotropic magnetoresistance. Our microscopic theory modelling confirms that this archetypical spintronic effect, discovered more than 150 years ago in ferromagnets, is also present in AFMs. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating room-temperature spintronic memories with AFMs, which in turn expands the base of available magnetic materials for devices with properties that cannot be achieved with ferromagnets.

Interface control of bulk ferroelectric polarization

The control of material interfaces at the atomic level has led to novel interfacial properties and functionalities. In particular, the study of polar discontinuities at interfaces between complex oxides lies at the frontier of modern condensed matter research. Here we employ a combination of experimental measurements and theoretical calculations to demonstrate the control of a bulk property, namely ferroelectric polarization, of a heteroepitaxial bilayer by precise atomic-scale interface engineering. More specifically, the control is achieved by exploiting the interfacial valence mismatch to influence the electrostatic potential step across the interface, which manifests itself as the biased-voltage in ferroelectric hysteresis loops and determines the ferroelectric state. A broad study of diverse systems comprising different ferroelectrics and conducting perovskite underlayers extends the generality of this phenomenon.

Tuning the competition between ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism in a half-doped manganite through magnetoelectric coupling

We investigate the possibility of controlling the magnetic phase transition of the heterointerface between a half-doped manganite La(0.5)Ca(0.5)MnO(3) and a multiferroic BiFeO(3) (BFO) through magnetoelectric coupling. Using macroscopic magnetometry and element-selective x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Mn and Fe L edges, we discover that the ferroelectric polarization of BFO controls simultaneously the magnetization of BFO and La(0.5)Ca(0.5)MnO(3) (LCMO). X-ray absorption spectra at the oxygen K edge and linear dichroism at the Mn L edge suggest that the interfacial coupling is mainly derived from the superexchange between Mn and Fe t(2g) spins. The combination of x-ray absorption spectroscopy and mean-field theory calculations reveals that the d-electron modulation of Mn cations changes the magnetic coupling in LCMO, which controls the enhanced canted moments of interfacial BFO via the interfacial coupling. Our results demonstrate that the competition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic instability can be modulated by an electric field at the heterointerface, providing another pathway for the electrical field control of magnetism.

Anisotropic magnetoresistance in an antiferromagnetic semiconductor

Lord Kelvin with his discovery of the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) phenomenon in Ni and Fe was 70 years ahead of the formulation of relativistic quantum mechanics the effect stems from, and almost one and a half century ahead of spintronics whose first commercial applications relied on the AMR. Despite the long history and importance in magnetic sensing and memory technologies, the microscopic understanding of the AMR has struggled to go far beyond the basic notion of a relativistic magnetotransport phenomenon arising from combined effects on diffusing carriers of spin-orbit coupling and broken symmetry of a metallic ferromagnet. Our work demonstrates that even this seemingly generic notion of the AMR phenomenon needs revisiting as we observe the ohmic AMR effect in a nano-scale film of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) semiconductor Sr2IrO4 (SIO). Our work opens the recently proposed path for integrating semiconducting and spintronic technologies in AFMs. SIO is a particularly favorable material for exploring this path since its semiconducting nature is entangled with the AFM order and strong spin-orbit coupling. For the observation of the low-field Ohmic AMR in SIO we prepared an epitaxial heterostructure comprising a nano-scale SIO film on top of an epilayer of a FM metal La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO). This allows the magnetic field control of the orientation of AFM spins in SIO via the exchange spring effect at the FM-AFM interface.Recent studies in devices comprising metal antiferromagnets have demonstrated the feasibility of a novel spintronic concept in which spin-dependent phenomena are governed by an antiferromagnet instead of a ferromagnet. Here we report experimental observation of the anisotropic magnetoresistance in an antiferromagnetic semiconductor Sr2IrO4. Based on ab initio calculations, we associate the origin of the phenomenon with large anisotropies in the relativistic electronic structure. The antiferromagnet film is exchange coupled to a ferromagnet, which allows us to reorient the antiferromagnet spin-axis in applied magnetic fields via the exchange spring effect. We demonstrate that the semiconducting nature of our AFM electrode allows us to perform anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements in the current-perpendicular-to-plane geometry without introducing a tunnel barrier into the stack. Temperature-dependent measurements of the resistance and anisotropic magnetoresistance highlight the large, entangled tunabilities of the ordinary charge and spin-dependent transport in a spintronic device utilizing the antiferromagnet semiconductor.

Strain-induced nonsymmorphic symmetry breaking and removal of Dirac semimetallic nodal line in an orthoperovskite iridate

By using a combination of heteroepitaxial growth, structure refinement based on synchrotron x-ray diffraction and first-principles calculations, we show that the symmetry-protected Dirac line nodes in the topological semimetallic perovskite SrIrO3 can be lifted simply by applying epitaxial constraints. In particular, the Dirac gap opens without breaking the Pbnm mirror symmetry. In virtue of a symmetry-breaking analysis, we demonstrate that the original symmetry protection is related to the n-glide operation, which can be selectively broken by different heteroepitaxial structures. This symmetry protection renders the nodal line a nonsymmorphic Dirac semimetallic state. The results highlight the vital role of crystal symmetry in spin-orbit-coupled correlated oxides and provide a foundation for experimental realization of topological insulators in iridate-based heterostructures.

Ferroelastic switching in a layered-perovskite thin film

A controllable ferroelastic switching in ferroelectric/multiferroic oxides is highly desirable due to the non-volatile strain and possible coupling between lattice and other order parameter in heterostructures. However, a substrate clamping usually inhibits their elastic deformation in thin films without micro/nano-patterned structure so that the integration of the non-volatile strain with thin film devices is challenging. Here, we report that reversible in-plane elastic switching with a non-volatile strain of approximately 0.4% can be achieved in layered-perovskite Bi2WO6 thin films, where the ferroelectric polarization rotates by 90° within four in-plane preferred orientations. Phase-field simulation indicates that the energy barrier of ferroelastic switching in orthorhombic Bi2WO6 film is ten times lower than the one in PbTiO3 films, revealing the origin of the switching with negligible substrate constraint. The reversible control of the in-plane strain in this layered-perovskite thin film demonstrates a new pathway to integrate mechanical deformation with nanoscale electronic and/or magnetoelectronic applications.

Induced magnetization in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/BiFeO3 superlattices.

Using polarized neutron reflectometry, we observe an induced magnetization of 75 ± 25 kA/m at 10 K in a La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) (LSMO)/BiFeO(3) superlattice extending from the interface through several atomic layers of the BiFeO(3) (BFO). The induced magnetization in BFO is explained by density functional theory, where the size of band gap of BFO plays an important role. Considering a classical exchange field between the LSMO and BFO layers, we further show that magnetization is expected to extend throughout the BFO, which provides a theoretical explanation for the results of the neutron scattering experiment.

Epitaxy-distorted spin-orbit Mott insulator in Sr2IrO 4 thin films

High-quality epitaxial thin films of

Atomic-scale control of magnetic anisotropy via novel spin-orbit coupling effect in La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/SrIrO3 superlattices.

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