Anisotropic optical and magneto-optical properties of antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn epitaxial thin films

Dong Gao; Ting Yang; Fu Tang; Jiejun Su; Weihao Yang; Dengfu Deng; Yunfei Xie; Jun Qin; Xiao Liang; Lei Bi

doi:10.1063/5.0225441

APL Materials (Sep 2024)

Anisotropic optical and magneto-optical properties of antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn epitaxial thin films

Dong Gao,
Ting Yang,
Fu Tang,
Jiejun Su,
Weihao Yang,
Dengfu Deng,
Yunfei Xie,
Jun Qin,
Xiao Liang,
Lei Bi

Affiliations

Dong Gao: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Ting Yang: Information Materials and Device Applications Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Universities, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, China
Fu Tang: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Jiejun Su: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Weihao Yang: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Dengfu Deng: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Yunfei Xie: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Jun Qin: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Xiao Liang: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Lei Bi: School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0225441
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 9
pp. 091114 – 091114-9

Abstract

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Antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn exhibiting strong magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) due to non-zero Berry curvature is attractive for spintronic and photonic device applications. Despite many reports on the anisotropic anomalous Hall effect (AHE), so far, there have been few studies on its anisotropic optical properties. In this work, we experimentally characterized the anisotropic optical and magneto-optical (MO) properties of Mn3Sn(20)/MgO(110) and Mn3Sn(0001)/Al2O3(0001) epitaxial films using ellipsometry in the wavelength range from 300 to 1690 nm. By measuring the Mueller matrix of magnetized Mn3Sn, the anisotropic permittivity tensor is determined using the 4 × 4 transfer matrix method. Temperature dependent MOKE measurement confirmed the origin of the anisotropic MO effect to the non-zero Berry curvature of the chiral magnetic phase. The measured permittivity also agrees well with first-principles calculations. The anisotropic optical and MO properties determined in this work can be useful for Mn3Sn based spintronic device characterization and photonic device development.

Published in APL Materials

ISSN: 2166-532X (Online)
Publisher: AIP Publishing LLC
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Biotechnology; Science: Physics
Website: http://aplmaterials.aip.org

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