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arXiv · 2205.05309

Time-dependent multistate switching of topological antiferromagnetic order in Mn$_3$Sn

Gunasheel Kauwtilyaa Krishnaswamy·Giacomo Sala·Benjamin Jacot·Richard Schlitz·Charles-Henri Lambert·Paul Noel·Pietro Gambardella
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Abstract

The manipulation of antiferromagnetic order by means of spin-orbit torques opens unprecedented opportunities to exploit the dynamics of antiferromagnets in spintronic devices. In this work, we investigate the current-induced switching of the magnetic octupole vector in the Weyl antiferromagnet Mn$_3$Sn as a function of pulse shape, field, temperature, and time. We find that the switching behavior can be either bistable or tristable depending on the temporal structure of the current pulses. Time-resolved Hall effect measurements reveal that Mn$_3$Sn switching proceeds via a two-step demagnetization-remagnetization process caused by self-heating over a timescale of tens of ns followed by cooling in the presence of spin-orbit torques. Our results shed light on the switching dynamics of Mn$_3$Sn and prove the existence of extrinsic limits on its switching speed.

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Gunasheel Kauwtilyaa Krishnaswamy, Giacomo Sala, Benjamin Jacot, Richard Schlitz, Charles-Henri Lambert, Paul Noel, Pietro Gambardella. 2022-05-11. Time-dependent multistate switching of topological antiferromagnetic order in Mn$_3$Sn. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.18.024064

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