arXiv subjects

Enke Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Enke Liu.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Large anisotropic topological Hall effect in a hexagonal non-collinear magnet Fe5Sn3

We report the observation of a large anisotropic topological Hall effect (THE) in the hexagonal non-collinear magnet Fe5Sn3 single crystals. It is found that the sign of the topological Hall resistivity is negative when a magnetic field H perpendicular to the bc-plane (H\perp bc-plane), however, it changes form negative to positive when H parallel to the c-axis (H\parallel c-axis). The value of topological Hall resistivity increased with the increasing temperature and reached approximately -2.12 μΩcm (H\perp bc-plane) and 0.5 μΩcm (H\parallel c-axis) at 350 K, respectively. Quantitative analyses of the measured data suggest that the observed anisotropic THE may originate from the opposite scalar spin chirality induced by the magnetic fields perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis, respectively.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Large anomalous Hall effect in a hexagonal ferromagnetic Fe5Sn3 single crystal

In this paper, we report an experimental observation of the large anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in a hexagonal ferromagnetic Fe5Sn3 single crystal with current along the b axis and a magnetic field normal to the bc plane. The intrinsic contribution of the anomalous Hall conductance sigma_AH^int was approximately 613 Ω-1 cm-1, which was more than 3 times the maximum value in the frustrated kagome magnet Fe3Sn2 and nearly independent of the temperature over a wide range between 5 and 350 K. The analysis results revealed that the large AHE was dominated by a common, intrinsic term, while the extrinsic contribution, i.e., the skew scattering and side jump, turned out to be small. In addition to the large AHE, it was found the types of majority carriers changed at approximately 275 and 30 K, consistent with the critical temperatures of the spin reorientation. These findings suggest that the hexagonal ferromagnetic Fe5Sn3 single crystal is an excellent candidate to use for the study of the topological features in ferromagnets.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Large Nernst Power Factor over a Broad Temperature Range in Polycrystalline Weyl Semimetal NbP

The discovery of topological materials has provided new opportunities to exploit advanced materials for heat-to-electricity energy conversion as they share many common characteristics with thermoelectric materials. In this work, we report the magneto-thermoelectric properties and Nernst effect of the topological Weyl semimetal NbP. We find that polycrystalline, bulk NbP shows a significantly larger Nernst thermopower than its conventional thermopower under magnetic field. As a result, a maximum Nernst power factor of ~ 35*10-4 Wm-1K-2 is achieved at 9 T and 136 K, which is 4 times higher than its conventional power factor and is also comparable to that of state-of-the-art thermoelectrics. Moreover, the Nernst power factor maintains relatively large value over a broad temperature range. These results highlight that the enhancement of thermoelectric performance can be achieved in topological semimetals based on the Nernst effect and transverse transport.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Synergistically creating sulfur vacancies in semimetal-supported amorphous MoS2 for efficient hydrogen evolution

The presence of elemental vacancies in materials is inevitable according to statistical thermodynamics, which will decide the chemical and physical properties of the investigated system. However, the controlled manipulation of vacancies for specific applications is a challenge. Here we report a facile method for creating large concentrations of S vacancies in the inert basal plane of MoS2 supported on semimetal CoMoP2. With a small applied potential, S atoms can be removed in the form of H2S due to the optimized free energy of formation. The existence of vacancies favors electron injection from the electrode to the active site by decreasing the contact resistance. As a consequence, the activity is increased by 221 % with the vacancy-rich MoS2 as electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A small overpotential of 75 mV is needed to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm-2, which is considered among the best values achieved for MoS2. It is envisaged that this work may provide a new strategy for utilizing the semimetal phase for structuring MoS2 into a multi-functional material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Zero-field Nernst effect in a ferromagnetic kagome-lattice Weyl-semimetal Co3Sn2S2

The discovery of magnetic topological semimetals recently attracted significant attention in the field of topology and thermoelectrics. In a thermoelectric device based on the Nernst geometry, an external magnet is required as an integral part. We report a zero-field Nernst effect in a newly discovered hard-ferromagnetic kagome-lattice Weyl-semimetal Co3Sn2S2. A maximum Nernst thermopower of 3 microvolt/K at 80 K in zero field is achieved in this magnetic Weyl-semimetal. Our results demonstrate the possibility of application of topological hard magnetic semimetals for low-power thermoelectric devices based on the Nernst effect and are thus valuable for the comprehensive understanding of transport properties in this class of materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Emerging chiral edge states from the confinement of a magnetic Weyl semimetal in Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$

The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) and magnetic Weyl semimetals (WSMs) are topological states induced by intrinsic magnetic moments and spin-orbit coupling. Their similarity suggests the possibility of achieving the QAHE by dimensional confinement of a magnetic WSM along one direction. In this study, we investigate the emergence of the QAHE in the two-dimensional (2D) limit of magnetic WSMs due to finite size effects in thin films and step-edges. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach with effective models and real materials. To this end, we have chosen the layered magnetic WSM Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$, which features a large anomalous Hall conductivity and anomalous Hall angle in its 3D bulk, as our material candidate. In the 2D limit of Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$ two QAHE states exist depending on the stoichiometry of the 2D layer. One is a semimetal with a Chern number of 6, and the other is an insulator with a Chern number of 3. The latter has a band gap of 0.05 eV, which is much larger than that in magnetically doped topological insulators. Our findings naturally explain the existence of chiral states in step edges of bulk Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$ which habe been reported in a recent experiment at $T = 4K$ and present a realistic avenue to realize QAH states in thin films of magnetic WSMs.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Thermally induced generation and annihilation of magnetic chiral skyrmion bubbles and achiral bubbles in Mn-Ni-Ga Magnets

Magnetic chiral skyrmion bubbles and achiral bubbles are two independent magnetic domain structures, in which the former with equivalent winding number to skyrmions offers great promise as information carriers for further spintronic devices. Here, in this work, we experimentally investigate the generation and annihilation of magnetic chiral skyrmion bubbles and achiral bubbles in the Mn-Ni-Ga thin plate by using the Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (L-TEM). The two independent magnetic domain structures can be directly controlled after the field cooling manipulation by varying the titled angles of external magnetic fields. By imaging the magnetization reversal with increasing temperature, we found an extraordinary annihilation mode of magnetic chiral skyrmion bubbles and a non-linear frequency for the winding number reversal. Quantitative analysis of such dynamics was performed by using L-TEM to directly determine the barrier energy for the magnetization reversal of magnetic chiral skyrmion bubbles.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Disorder-Induced Elevation of Intrinsic Anomalous Hall Conductance in an Electron-Doped Magnetic Weyl Semimetal

Topological materials are expected to show distinct transport signatures due to their unique band-inversion character and band-crossing points. However, the intentional modulation of such topological responses by experimentally feasible means is less explored. Here, an unusual elevation of anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is obtained in electron(Ni)-doped magnetic Weyl semimetal Co3-xNixSn2S2, showing peak values of anomalous Hall-conductivity, Hall-angle and Hall-factor at a relatively low doping level of x = 0.11. The separation of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to total AHE using TYJ scaling model indicates that such significant enhancement is dominated by the intrinsic mechanism of electronic Berry curvature. Theoretical calculations reveal that compared with the Fermi-level shifting from electron filling, a usually overlooked effect of doping, i.e., local disorder, imposes a striking effect on broadening the bands and narrowing the inverted gap, and thus results in an elevation of the integrated Berry curvature. Our results not only realize the enhancement of AHE in a magnetic Weyl semimetal, but also provide a practical design principle to modulate the bands and transport properties in topological materials, by exploiting the disorder effect of doping.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

On the anisotropies of magnetization and electronic transport of magnetic Weyl semimetal Co3Sn2S2

Co3Sn2S2, a quasi-two-dimensional system with kagome lattice, has been found as a magnetic Weyl semimetal recently. In this work, the anisotropies of magnetization and transport properties of Co3Sn2S2 were investigated. The high field measurements reveal a giant magnetocrystalline anisotropy with an out-of-plane saturation field of 0.9 kOe and an in-plane saturation field of 230 kOe at 2 K, showing a magnetocrystalline anisotropy coefficient Ku up to 8.3 * 10^5 J m-3, which indicates that it is extremely difficult to align the small moment of 0.29 μB/Co on the kagome lattice from c axis to ab plane. The out-of-plane angular dependences of Hall conductivity further reveal strong anisotropies in Berry curvature and ferromagnetism, and the vector directions of both are always parallel with each other. For in-plane situation, the longitudinal and transverse measurements for both I parallel a and I perpendicular a cases show that the transport on the kagome lattice is isotropic. These results provide essential understanding on the magnetization and transport behaviors for the magnetic Weyl semimetal Co3Sn2S2.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Nonsaturating magnetoresistance, anomalous Hall effect, and magnetic quantum oscillations in ferromagnetic semimetal PrAlSi

We report a comprehensive investigation of the structural, magnetic, transport and thermodynamic properties of a single crystal PrAlSi, in comparison to its nonmagnetic analogue LaAlSi. PrAlSi exhibits a ferromagnetic transition at $T_C$ = 17.8 K which, however, is followed by two weak phase transitions at lower temperatures. Based on the combined dc and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements, we propose the two reentrant magnetic phases below $T_C$ to be spin glasses or ferromagnetic cluster glasses. When the magnetic glassy states are suppressed by small field, several remarkable features appear. These include a linear, nonsaturating magnetoresistance as a function of field that is reminiscent of a topological or charge-compensated semimetal, and a large anomalous Hall conductivity amounting to $\sim$2000 $Ω^{-1}$cm$^{-1}$. Specific-heat measurements indicate a non-Kramers doublet ground state and a relatively low crystal electric field splitting of the Pr$^{3+}$ multiplets of less than 100 K. Shubnikov-de Hass oscillations are absent in LaAlSi, whereas they are clearly observed below about 25 K in PrAlSi, with an unusual temperature dependence of the dominating oscillation frequency $F$. It increases from $F$ = 18 T at 25 K to $F$ = 33 T at 2 K, hinting at an emerging Fermi pocket upon cooling into the ordered phase. These results suggest that PrAlSi is a new system where a small Fermi pocket of likely relativistic fermions is strongly coupled to magnetism. Whether hybridization between $f$ and conduction band is also involved remains an intriguing open problem.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Observation of Magnetic Skyrmion Bubbles in a van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3GeTe2

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials have recently been introduced as a new horizon in materials science and enable the potential applications for next-generation spintronic devices. Here, in this communication, the observations of stable Bloch-type magnetic skyrmions in single crystals of 2D vdW Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) are reported by using in-situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We find the ground-state magnetic stripe domains in FGT transform into skyrmion bubbles when an external magnetic field is applied perpendicularly to the (001) thin plate with temperatures below the Curie-temperature TC. Most interestingly, a hexagonal lattice of skyrmion bubbles is obtained via field cooling manipulation with magnetic field applied along the [001] direction. Owing to their topological stability, the skyrmion bubble lattices are stable to large field-cooling tilted angles and further reproduced by utilizing the micromagnetic simulations. These observations directly demonstrate that the 2D vdW FGT possesses a rich variety of topological spin textures, being of a great promise candidate for future applications in the field of spintronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Manipulating Spin Chirality of Magnetic Skyrmion Bubbles by In-Plane Re-versed Magnetic Fields in (Mn$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$)$_{65}$Ga$_{35}$ ($x = 0.45$) magnet

Understanding the dynamics of the magnetic skyrmion, a particle-like topologically stable spin texture, and its response dynamics to external fields are indis-pensable for the applications in spintronic devices. In this letter, the Lorentz transmis-sion electron microscopy (LTEM) was used to investigate the spin chirality of the mag-netic skyrmion bubbles (SKBs) in the centrosymmetric magnet MnNiGa at room tem-perature. The reversal of SKBs excited by the in-plane magnetic field has been revealed. Moreover, the collective behavior of interacting spin chirality can be manipulated by reversing the directions of the magnetic fields on a wedge-shaped thin plate. The dy-namic behavior of the bubbles at different position of the thin plate has been explored with the micromagnetic simulation, indicating a non-uniform and nontrivial dynamic magnetization on the surfaces and center of the thin plate during the spin chirality re-versal. The results suggest that the controllable symmetry breaking of the SKBs arising from thickness variation provides an ability to manipulate the collective behavior of the spin chirality with small external fields, leading to a promising application in nonvola-tile spintronic devices for magnetic skyrmions.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Large topological Hall effect in a geometrically frustrated kagome magnet Fe$_3$Sn$_2$

We report on the observation of a large topological Hall effect (THE) over a wide temperature region in a geometrically frustrated Fe3Sn2 magnet with a kagome-bilayer structure. We found that the magnitude of the THE resistivity increases with temperature and reaches -0.875 μΩ.cm at 380 K. Moreover, the critical magnetic fields with the change of THE are consistent with the magnetic structure transformation, which indicates that the real-space fictitious magnetic field is proportional to the formation of magnetic skyrmions in Fe3Sn2. The results strongly suggest that the large THE originates from the topological magnetic spin textures and may open up further research opportunities in exploring emergent phenomena in kagome materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Manipulating the Topology of Nanoscale Skyrmion Bubbles by Spatially Geometric Confinement

The discovery of magnetic skyrmion bubbles in centrosymmetric magnets has been receiving increasing interest from the research community, due to the fascinating physics of topological spin textures and its possible applications to spintronics. However, key challenges remain, such as how to manipulate the nucleation of skyrmion bubbles to exclude the trivial bubbles or metastable skyrmion bubbles that usually coexist with skyrmion bubbles in the centrosymmetric magnets. Here, we report having successfully performed this task by applying spatially geometric confinement to a centrosymmetric frustrated Fe3Sn2 magnet. We demonstrate that the spatially geometric confinement can indeed stabilize the skyrmion bubbles, by effectively suppressing the formation of trivial bubbles and metastable skyrmion bubbles. We also show that the critical magnetic field for the nucleation of the skyrmion bubbles in the confined Fe3Sn2 nanostripes is drastically less, by an order of magnitude, than that what is required in the thin plate without geometrical confinement. By analyzing how the width and thickness of the nanostripes affect the spin textures of skyrmion bubbles, we infer that the topological transition of skyrmion bubbles is closely related to the dipole-dipole interaction, which we find is consistent with theoretical simulations. The results presented here represent an important step forward in manipulating the topological spin textures of skyrmion bubbles, making us closer to achieving the fabrication of skyrmion-based racetrack memory devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Creation of Single Chain of Nanoscale Skyrmion Bubbles with Record-high Temperature Stability in a Geometrically Confined Nanostripe

Nanoscale topologically non-trivial spin textures, such as magnetic skyrmions, have been identified as promising candidates for the transport and storage of information for spintronic applications, notably magnetic racetrack memory devices. The design and realization of single skyrmion chain at room temperature (RT) and above in the low-dimensional nanostructures are of great importance for future practical applications. Here, we report the creation of a single skyrmion bubble chain in a geometrically confined Fe3Sn2 nanostripe with a width comparable to the featured size of a skyrmion bubble. Systematic investigations on the thermal stability have revealed that the single chain of skyrmion bubbles can keep stable at temperatures varying from RT up to a record-high temperature of 630 K. This extreme stability can be ascribed to the weak temperature-dependent magnetic anisotropy and the formation of edge states at the boundaries of the nanostripes. The realization of the highly stable skyrmion bubble chain in a geometrically confined nanostructure is a very important step towards the application of skyrmion-based spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Current-Induced Helicity Reversal of a Single Skyrmionic Bubble Chain in a Nanostructured Frustrated Magnet

Helicity indicates the in-plane magnetic-moment swirling direction of a skyrmionic configuration. The ability to reverse the helicity of a skyrmionic bubble via purely electrical means has been predicted in frustrated magnetic systems, however its experimental observation has remained challenging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the current-driven helicity reversal of the skyrmionic bubble in a nanostructured frustrated Fe3Sn2 magnet. The critical current density required to trigger the helicity reversal is 109 - 1010 A/m2, with a corresponding pulse-width varying from 1 μs to 100 ns. Computational simulations reveal that both the pinning effect and dipole-dipole interaction play a crucial role in the helicity-reversal process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Giant anomalous Hall effect in a ferromagnetic Kagome-lattice semimetal

Magnetic Weyl semimetals with broken time-reversal symmetry are expected to generate strong intrinsic anomalous Hall effects, due to their large Berry curvature. Here, we report a magnetic Weyl semimetal candidate Co3Sn2S2 with a quasi-two-dimensional crystal structure consisting of stacked Kagome lattices. This lattice provides an excellent platform for hosting exotic quantum topological states. We observe a negative magnetoresistance that is consistent with the chiral anomaly expected from the presence of Weyl fermions close to the Fermi level. The anomalous Hall conductivity is robust against both increased temperature and charge conductivity, which corroborates the intrinsic Berry-curvature mechanism in momentum space. Owing to the low carrier density in this material and the significantly enhanced Berry curvature from its band structure, the anomalous Hall conductivity and the anomalous Hall angle simultaneously reach 1130 S cm-1 and 20%, respectively, an order of magnitude larger than typical magnetic systems. Combining the Kagome-lattice structure and the long-range out-of-plane ferromagnetic order of Co3Sn2S2, we expect that this material is an excellent candidate for observation of the quantum anomalous Hall state in the two-dimensional limit.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Signatures for half-metallicity and nontrivial surface states in a Kagome-lattice magnetic Weyl semimetal Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$

Weyl semimetals with time reversal symmetry breaking are expected to show various fascinating physical behaviors, such as intrinsic giant anomalous Hall effect, chiral anomaly effect in the bulks, and Fermi arcs on the surfaces. Here we report a scanning tunneling microscopy study on the magnetic Weyl semimetal candidate Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$. According to the morphology and local density of states of the surface, we provide assignments to different surface terminations. The measured local density of states reveals a semimetal gap of ~300 mV, which is further verified as the gap in spin-minority bands using spin-resolved tunneling spectra. Additionally, signature for the nontrivial surface states around 50 mV is proposed. This is further confirmed by the observations of standing waves around a step-edge of the sample. Our observations and their comparison with band structure calculations provide direct yet timely evidence for the bulk and surface band structures of the magnetic Weyl semimetal Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗