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arXiv · 2603.06500

Epitaxial stabilization of magnetic GdAuSb/LaAuSb superlattices

Patrick J. Strohbeen·Soohyun Im·Tamalika Samanta·Zachary LaDuca·Dongxue Du·Estiaque H. Shourov·Jessica L. McChesney·Fanny Rodolakis·Paul M. Voyles·Jason K. Kawasaki
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Abstract

We report the epitaxial stabilization of GdAuSb films and GdAuSb/LaAuSb superlattices via molecular beam epitaxy on (0001)-oriented Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ substrates. GdAuSb crystallize in the Au-Au dimerized YPtAs structure type (space group $P6_{3}/mmc$), the same structure as the Dirac semimetal LaAuSb. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements show similar near $E_F$ bandstructures for GdAuSb and LaAuSb, plus a rigid band shift for GdAuSb towards more hole-like behavior and core-like Gd $4f$ states $\sim 9$~eV below the Fermi energy. LaAuSb/GdAuSb superlattices exhibit sharp superlattice fringes by X-ray diffraction and atomically-precise interfaces by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Superlattices display two transitions in temperature-dependent resistvity, compared to a single N\'{e}el temperature for thick GdAuSb films. Superlattices of $Ln$AuSb materials ($Ln=$ rare earth) with atomically abrupt interfaces offer a new epitaxial platform for control of magnetic and topological order via tunable intralayer exchange and reduced dimensionality.

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Patrick J. Strohbeen, Soohyun Im, Tamalika Samanta, Zachary LaDuca, Dongxue Du, Estiaque H. Shourov, Jessica L. McChesney, Fanny Rodolakis, Paul M. Voyles, Jason K. Kawasaki. 2026-03-06. Epitaxial stabilization of magnetic GdAuSb/LaAuSb superlattices. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.06500

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