Ferhat Katmis

A high-temperature ferromagnetic topological insulating phase by proximity coupling

Topological insulators are insulating materials that display conducting surface states protected by time-reversal symmetry, wherein electron spins are locked to their momentum. This unique property opens up new opportunities for creating next-generation electronic, spintronic and quantum computation devices. Introducing ferromagnetic order into a topological insulator system without compromising its distinctive quantum coherent features could lead to the realization of several predicted physical phenomena. In particular, achieving robust long-range magnetic order at the surface of the topological insulator at specific locations without introducing spin-scattering centres could open up new possibilities for devices. Here we use spin-polarized neutron reflectivity experiments to demonstrate topologically enhanced interface magnetism by coupling a ferromagnetic insulator (EuS) to a topological insulator (Bi2Se3) in a bilayer system. This interfacial ferromagnetism persists up to room temperature, even though the ferromagnetic insulator is known to order ferromagnetically only at low temperatures (<17 K). The magnetism induced at the interface resulting from the large spin–orbit interaction and the spin–momentum locking of the topological insulator surface greatly enhances the magnetic ordering (Curie) temperature of this bilayer system. The ferromagnetism extends ~2 nm into the Bi2Se3 from the interface. Owing to the short-range nature of the ferromagnetic exchange interaction, the time-reversal symmetry is broken only near the surface of a topological insulator, while leaving its bulk states unaffected. The topological magneto-electric response originating in such an engineered topological insulator could allow efficient manipulation of the magnetization dynamics by an electric field, providing an energy-efficient topological control mechanism for future spin-based technologies.

Strong interfacial exchange field in the graphene/EuS heterostructure

Exploiting 2D materials for spintronic applications can potentially realize next-generation devices featuring low power consumption and quantum operation capability. The magnetic exchange field (MEF) induced by an adjacent magnetic insulator enables efficient control of local spin generation and spin modulation in 2D devices without compromising the delicate material structures. Using graphene as a prototypical 2D system, we demonstrate that its coupling to the model magnetic insulator (EuS) produces a substantial MEF (>14 T) with the potential to reach hundreds of tesla, which leads to orders-of-magnitude enhancement of the spin signal originating from the Zeeman spin Hall effect. Furthermore, the new ferromagnetic ground state of Dirac electrons resulting from the strong MEF may give rise to quantized spin-polarized edge transport. The MEF effect shown in our graphene/EuS devices therefore provides a key functionality for future spin logic and memory devices based on emerging 2D materials in classical and quantum information processing.

Linear magnetoresistance in topological insulator thin films: Quantum phase coherence effects at high temperatures

In addition to the weak antilocalization cusp observed in the magnetoresistance (MR) of topological insulators at low temperatures and low magnetic fields, we find that the high-field MR in Bi2Te2Se is linear in field. At fields up to B = 14 T, the slope of this linear-like MR is nearly independent of temperature over the range T = 7 to 150 K. We find that the linear MR arises from the competition between a logarithmic phase coherence component and a quadratic component. The quantum phase coherence dominates up to high temperatures, where the coherence length remains longer than the mean free path of electrons.

Quantum coherent transport in SnTe topological crystalline insulator thin films

Topological crystalline insulators (TCI) are unique systems where a band inversion that is protected by crystalline mirror symmetry leads to a multiplicity of topological surface states. Binary SnTe is an attractive lead-free TCI compound; the present work on high-quality thin films provides a route for increasing the mobility and reducing the carrier density of SnTe without chemical doping. Results of quantum coherent magnetotransport measurements reveal a multiplicity of Dirac surface states that are unique to TCI. Modeling of the weak antilocalization shows variations in the extracted number of carrier valleys that reflect the role of coherent intervalley scattering in coupling different Dirac states on the degenerate TCI surface.

A comparative transport study of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Se3/yttrium iron garnet

Bilayers of 20 quintuple layer Bi2Se3 on 30 nm thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) have been grown with molecular beam epitaxy in conjunction with pulsed laser deposition. The presence of the ferri-magnetic insulator YIG causes additional scattering to the surface states of the Bi2Se3 topological insulator layer, as indicated by the temperature dependence of the resistivity. From the two-channel analysis of the Hall data, we find that the surface contribution in the bilayer samples is greatly reduced. Furthermore, the weak antilocalization effect from the surface states is clearly suppressed due to the presence of the YIG layer.

Coherent ultrafast spin-dynamics probed in three dimensional topological insulators

Topological insulators are candidates to open up a novel route in spin based electronics. Different to traditional ferromagnetic materials, where the carrier spin-polarization and magnetization are based on the exchange interaction, the spin properties in topological insulators are based on the coupling of spin- and orbit interaction connected to its momentum. Specific ways to control the spin-polarization with light have been demonstrated: the energy momentum landscape of the Dirac cone provides spin-momentum locking of the charge current and its spin. We investigate a spin-related signal present only during the laser excitation studying real and imaginary part of the complex Kerr angle by disentangling spin and lattice contributions. This coherent signal is only present at the time of the pump-pulses’ light field and can be described in terms of a Raman coherence time. The Raman transition involves states at the bottom edge of the conduction band. We demonstrate a coherent femtosecond control of spin-polarization for electronic states at around the Dirac cone.

Magnetic proximity effect and interlayer exchange coupling of ferromagnetic/topological insulator/ferromagnetic trilayer

Magnetic proximity effect between topological insulator (TI) and ferromagnetic insulator (FMI) is considered to have great potential in spintronics. However, a complete determination of interfacial magnetic structure has been highly challenging. We theoretically investigate the interlayer exchange coupling of two FMIs separated by a TI thin film, and show that the particular electronic states of the TI contributing to the proximity effect can be directly identified through the coupling behavior between two FMIs, together with a tunability of coupling constant. Such FMI/TI/FMI structure not only serves as a platform to clarify the magnetic structure of FMI/TI interface, but also provides insights into designing the magnetic storage devices with ultrafast response.

Modified electrical transport probe design for standard magnetometer

Making electrical transport measurements on a material is often a time consuming process that involves testing a large number of samples. It is thus inconvenient to wire up and rewire samples onto a sample probe. We therefore present a method of modifying Quantum Designs MPMS SQUID magnetometer transport probe that simplifies the process of sample mounting. One of the difficulties to overcome is the small diameter of the sample space. A small socket is designed and mounted on the probe so that various samples mounted on individual headers can be readily exchanged in the socket. We also present some test results on the topological insulator Bi(2)Te(2)Se using the modified probe.

Observation of chiral currents at the magnetic domain boundary of a topological insulator

Scanning SQUID is a local magnetometer which can image flux through its pickup loop due to DC magnetic fields (

Electric coupling in scanning SQUID measurements

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