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arXiv · 2106.02729

Optical read-out of the N\'eel vector in metallic antiferromagnet Mn$_{2}$Au

Vladimir Grigorev·Mariia Filianina·Stanislav Yu. Bodnar·Sergei Sobolev·Nilabha Bhattacharjee·Satya Bommanaboyena·Yaryna Lytvynenko·Yurii Skourski·Dirk Fuchs·Mathias Kläui·Martin Jourdan·Jure Demsar
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Abstract

Metallic antiferromagnets with broken inversion symmetry on the two sublattices, strong spin-orbit coupling and high N\'{e}el temperatures offer new opportunities for applications in spintronics. Especially Mn$_{2}$Au, with high N\'{e}el temperature and conductivity, is particularly interesting for real-world applications. Here, manipulation of the orientation of the staggered magnetization,\textit{\ i.e.} the N\'{e}el vector, by current pulses has been recently demonstrated, with the read-out limited to studies of anisotropic magnetoresistance or X-ray magnetic linear dichroism. Here, we report on the in-plane reflectivity anisotropy of Mn$_{2}$Au (001) films, which were N\'{e}el vector aligned in pulsed magnetic fields. In the near-infrared, the anisotropy is $\approx$ 0.6\%, with higher reflectivity for the light polarized along the N\'{e}el vector. The observed magnetic linear dichroism is about four times larger than the anisotropic magnetoresistance. This suggests the dichroism in Mn$_{2}$Au is a result of the strong spin-orbit interactions giving rise to anisotropy of interband optical transitions, in-line with recent studies of electronic band-structure. The considerable magnetic linear dichroism in the near-infrared could be used for ultrafast optical read-out of the N\'{e}el vector in Mn$_{2}$Au.

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Vladimir Grigorev, Mariia Filianina, Stanislav Yu. Bodnar, Sergei Sobolev, Nilabha Bhattacharjee, Satya Bommanaboyena, Yaryna Lytvynenko, Yurii Skourski, Dirk Fuchs, Mathias Kläui, Martin Jourdan, Jure Demsar. 2021-06-04. Optical read-out of the N\'eel vector in metallic antiferromagnet Mn$_{2}$Au. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.16.014037

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