arXiv subjects

Mingliang Tian

Publications and source records attributed to Mingliang Tian.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Observation of Hybrid Magnetic Skyrmion Bubbles in Fe3Sn2 Nanodisks

It is well known that there are two types of magnetic bubbles in uniaxial magnets. Here, using Lorentz-transimission electronic microscopy magnetic imaging, we report the direct experimental observation of 3D type-III hybrid bubbles, which comprise Néel-twisted skyrmion bubbles with topological charge Q = -1 in near-surface layers and type-II bubbles with Q = 0 in interior layers, in Fe3Sn2 nanodisks. Using the tilted magnetic field, we further show the controlled topological magnetic transformations of three types of bubbles in a confined ferromagnetic nanodisk. Our observations are well reproduced using micromagnetic simulations based on measured magnetic parameters. Our results advance fundamental classification and understanding of magnetic bubbles, which could propel the applications of three-dimensional magnetism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Surface skyrmions and dual topological Hall effect in antiferromagnetic topological insulator EuCd$_2$As$_2$

In this work, we synthesized single crystal of EuCd$_2$As$_2$, which exhibits A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) order with in-plane spin orientation below $T_N$ = 9.5~K.Optical spectroscopy and transport measurements suggest its topological insulator (TI) nature with an insulating gap around 0.1eV. Remarkably, a dual topological Hall resistivity that exhibits same magnitude but opposite signs in the positive to negative and negative to positive magnetic field hysteresis branches emerges below 20~K. With magnetic force microscopy (MFM) images and numerical simulations, we attribute the dual topological Hall effect to the Néel-type skyrmions stabilized by the interactions between topological surface states and magnetism, and the sign reversal in different hysteresis branches indicates potential coexistence of skyrmions and antiskyrmions. Our work uncovers a unique two-dimensional (2D) magnetism on the surface of intrinsic AFM TI, providing a promising platform for novel topological quantum states and AFM spintronic applications.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

The Ground State Lattice Distortion of CsV$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$ Revealed by de Haas-van Alphen Oscillations

The recently discovered AV$_{3}$Sb$_{5}$ (A = K, Rb, Cs) compounds have garnered intense attention in the scientific community due to their unique characteristics as kagome superconductors coexisting with a charge density wave (CDW) order. To comprehend the electronic properties of this system, it is essential to understand the lattice distortions associated with the CDW order and the ground state electronic behavior. Here, we comprehensively examine the Fermi surface by a combination of angle-dependent torque magnetometry and density functional theory calculations. We observe magnetic breakdown in the de Haas-van Alphen oscillations under high magnetic fields. Additionally, by examining the angular and temperature variations in quantum oscillation frequencies, we gain insight into the evolution of the three-dimensional like Fermi surfaces and the cyclotron masses of the orbits, which are consistent with weak electron-phonon coupling. Notably, further comparisons indicate that the 2$\times$2$\times$2 Star-of-David (SoD) distortion is more compatible with both high frequency data above 1000\,T and low frequency data below 500\,T, while the 2$\times$2$\times$2 Tri-Hexagonal (TrH) distortion aligns well with experimental data at mid frequencies. This finding implies the inherent coexistence of both TrH and SoD 2$\times$2$\times$2 patterns within the CDW order. These observations provide key insights into the interplay among effective electronic dimensionality, CDW state, and superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Robust room temperature ferromagnetism in an itinerant van der Waals antiferromagnet

The coexistence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic order at room temperature in single-phase van der Waals materials, particularly within the two-dimensional limit, has attracted significant research interest. Nonetheless, such materials are rare. In this work, we introduce an itinerant van der Waals antiferromagnet (Fe0.56Co0.44)5GeTe2, where the ferromagnetic order of its exfoliated flakes remains discernible up to room temperature, extending down to the monolayer limit. A notable phenomenon observed is the evident odd-even layer-number effect at high temperature (e.g., T = 150 K). Such behaviour can be expounded by a linear-chain model. Of particular interest is the robust ferromagnetic order observed in even-layer flakes at low temperature (e.g., T = 2 K), which could potentially be attributed to spin-polarized defects. The intricate interplay among magnetic field strength, layer number, and temperature gives rise to a diverse array of phenomena, holding promise not only for new physics but also for practical applications.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Experimental observation of one-dimensional motion of interstitial skyrmion in FeGe

The interplay between dimensionality and topology manifests in magnetism via both exotic texture morphology and novel dynamics. A free magnetic skyrmion exhibits the skyrmion Hall effect under electric currents. Once it is confined in one-dimensional (1D) channels, the skyrmion Hall effect would be suppressed, and the current-driven skyrmion speed should be boosted by the non-adiabatic spin transfer torque \b{eta}. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that stripes of a spatially modulated spin helix serve as natural 1D channels to restrict skyrmion. Using FeGe as a benchmark, an interstitial skyrmion is created by geometry notch and further moves steadily without the skyrmion Hall effect. The slope of the current-velocity curve for 1D skyrmion is enhanced almost by an order of magnitude owing to a large \b{eta} in FeGe. This feature is also observed in other topological defects. Utilizing the 1D skyrmion dynamics would be a highly promising route to implement topological spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Combined Magnetic Imaging and Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Detection of Dipolar Skyrmions

Magnetic skyrmions are localized particle-like nontrivial swirls that are promising in building high-performance topological spintronic devices. The read-out functions in skyrmionic devices require the translation of magnetic skyrmions to electrical signals. Here, we report combined real-space magnetic imaging and anisotropic magnetoresistance studies on dipolar skyrmions. A single skyrmion chain and single skyrmion are observed using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy imaging. Meanwhile, the field, helicity, and skyrmion count dependence of anisotropic magnetoresistance of the Fe3Sn2 nanostructures are obtained simultaneously. Our results demonstrate that the anisotropic magnetoresistance of skyrmions is independent of the helicity and proportional to the skyrmion count. Our work could promote read-out operations in skyrmion-based spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

A phase transition driven by subtle distortion without broken symmetry on spin, charge and lattice in Layered LnCu4-δP2(Ln=Eu, Sr)

In the scenario of Landau phase transition theory in condensed matter physics, any thermal dynamic phase transition must be subject to some kind of broken symmetries, that are relative to its spin, charge, orbital and lattice. Here we report a rare phase transition at Tp ~120 K or 140 K in layered materials LnCu4-δP2 (Ln=Eu, Sr) driven by a subtle structural-distortion without any broken symmetry on charge, spin and lattice. The variations of the lattice parameters, (ΔLc/Lc) ~ 0.013% or 0.062%, verified by thermal expansion, is much less than that for a typical crystalline phase transition (~0.5-1%), but the significant anomaly in heat capacity provides clear evidence of its intrinsic nature of thermodynamic transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Sign-reversed anomalous Nernst effect in the ferromagnetic Weyl-semimetal Fe$_{3-x}$GeTe$_2$: the role of Fe vacancies

Anomalous Nernst effect, as a thermal partner of anomalous Hall effect, is particularly sensitive to the Berry curvature anomaly near the Fermi level, and has been used to probe the topological nature of quantum materials. In this work, we report the observation of both effects in the ferromagnetic Weyl-semimetal Fe$_{3-x}$GeTe$_2$ with tunable Fe vacancies. With decreasing Fe vacancies, the anomalous Hall conductivity evolves as a function of the longitudinal conductivity from the hopping region to the region where the intrinsic Berry curvature contribution dominates. Concomitant evolutions in the anomalous Nernst signal and the anomalous off-diagonal thermoelectric coefficient are observed below the Curie temperature, displaying a unique sign change caused by the Fe vacancies. Combining these results with first-principles calculations, we argue that the Fe-vacancy concentration plays a unique role in simultaneously tuning the chemical potential and ferromagnetism, which in turn controls the Berry curvature contribution in this family of ferromagnetic topological semimetals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Current-Controlled Topological Magnetic Transformations in a Nanostructured Kagome Magnet

Topological magnetic charge Q is a fundamental parameter that describes the magnetic domains and determines their intriguing electromagnetic properties. The ability to switch Q in a controlled way by electrical methods allows for flexible manipulation of electromagnetic behavior in future spintronic devices. Here we report the room-temperature current-controlled topological magnetic transformations between Q = -1 skyrmions and Q = 0 stripes or type-II bubbles in a kagome crystal Fe$_3$Sn$_2$. We show that the reproducible and reversible skyrmion-bubble and skyrmion-stripe transformations can be achieved by tuning the density of nanosecond pulsed current of the order of ~10$^{10}$ A$^{-2}$. Further numerical simulations suggest that spin-transfer torque combined with Joule thermal heating effects determine the current-induced topological magnetic transformations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Layer-dependent interlayer antiferromagnetic spin reorientation in air-stable semiconductor CrSBr

Magnetic van der Waals (vdW) materials offer a fantastic platform to investigate and exploit rich spin configurations stabilized in reduced dimensions. One tantalizing magnetic order is the interlayer antiferromagnetism in A-type vdW antiferromagnet, which may be effectively modified by the magnetic field, stacking order and thickness scaling. However, atomically revealing the interlayer spin orientation in the vdW antiferromagnet is highly challenging, because most of the material candidates exhibit an insulating ground state or instability in ambient conditions. Here, we report the layer-dependent interlayer antiferromagnetic reorientation in air-stable semiconductor CrSBr using magnetotransport characterization and first-principles calculations. We reveal a pronounced odd-even layer effect of interlayer reorientation, which originates from the competitions among interlayer exchange, magnetic anisotropy energy and extra Zeeman energy of uncompensated magnetization. Furthermore, we quantitatively constructed the layer-dependent magnetic phase diagram with the help of a linear-chain model. Our work uncovers the layer-dependent interlayer antiferromagnetic reorientation engineered by magnetic field in the air-stable semiconductor, which could contribute to future vdW spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Two-dimensional characterization of three-dimensional magnetic bubbles in Fe$_3$Sn$_2$ nanostructures

We report differential phase contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of nanoscale magnetic objects in Kagome ferromagnet Fe$_3$Sn$_2$ nanostructures. This technique can directly detect the deflection angle of a focused electron beam, thus allowing clear identification of the real magnetic structures of two magnetic objects including three-ring and complex arch-shaped vortices in Fe$_3$Sn$_2$ by Lorentz transmission electron microscopy imaging. Numerical calculations based on real material-specific parameters well reproduced the experimental results, showing that the magnetic objects can be attributed to integral magnetizations of two types of complex three-dimensional (3D) magnetic skyrmion bubbles with depth-modulated spin twisting. Magnetic configurations obtained using the high-resolution TEM are generally considered as two-dimensional (2D) magnetic objects previously. Our results imply the importance of the integral magnetizations of underestimated 3D magnetic structures in 2D TEM magnetic characterizations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Gate-tunable exchange bias effect in FePS3-Fe5GeTe2 van der Waals heterostructures

Electrical gate-manipulated exchange bias (EB) effect is a long-term goal for spintronics applications. Meanwhile, the emergence of van der Waals (vdW) magnetic heterostructures provides ideal platforms for the study of interlayer magnetic coupling. However, to date, the electrical gate-controlled EB effect has yet to be realized in vdW heterostructures. Here, for the first time, we realized electrically-controllable EB effects in a vdW antiferromagnetic (AFM)-ferromagnetic (FM) heterostructure, FePS3-Fe5GeTe2. For pristine FePS3-Fe5GeTe2 heterostructures, sizable EB effects can be generated due to the strong interface coupling, which also depend on the thickness of the ferromagnetic layers. By applying a solid protonic gate, the EB effects can be electrically tuned largely by proton intercalations and deintercalations. The EB field reaches up to 23% of the coercive field and the blocking temperature exceeds 50 K at Vg= -3.15 V. The proton intercalations not only tune the average magnetic exchange coupling, but also change the AFM configurations and transform the heterointerface between an uncompensated AFM-FM interface and a compensated AFM-FM interface. These alterations result in a dramatic modulation of the total interface exchange coupling and the resultant EB effects. The study is a significant step towards vdW heterostructure-based magnetic logic for future low-energy electronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Magnetotransport due to conductivity fluctuations in non-magnetic ZrTe2 nanoplates

Transition metal dichalcogenides with nontrivial band structures exhibit various fascinating physical properties and have sparked intensively research interest. Here, we performed systematic magnetotransport measurements on mechanical exfoliation prepared ZrTe2 nanoplates. We revealed that the negative longitudinal magnetoresistivity observed at high field region in the presence of parallel electric and magnetic fields could stem from the conductivity fluctuations due to the excess Zr in the nanoplates. In addition, the parametric plot, the planar Hall resistivity as function of the in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistivity, has an ellipse-shaped pattern with shifted orbital center, which further strengthen the evidence for the conductivity fluctuations. Our work provides some useful insights into transport phenomena in topological materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Electrically controlled superconductor-insulator transition and giant anomalous Hall effect in kagome metal CsV3Sb5 nanoflakes

The electronic correlations (e.g. unconventional superconductivity (SC), chiral charge order and nematic order) and giant anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in topological kagome metals AV3Sb5 (A= K, Rb, and Cs) have attracted great interest. Electrical control of those correlated electronic states and AHE allows us to resolve their own nature and origin and to discover new quantum phenomena. Here, we show that a protonic gate can largely modulate the effective disorders and carrier density in CsV3Sb5 nanoflakes, leading to significant modifications of SC, unusual charge density wave (CDW) and giant AHE. Notably, we observed a direct superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) driven by superconducting phase fluctuation due to the doping-enhanced disorders, in addition to a large suppression of CDW. Meanwhile, the carrier density modulation shifts the Fermi level across the CDW gap and gives rise to a nontrivial evolution of AHE, in line with the asymmetric density of states of CDW sub-bands near the saddle point. With the first-principles calculations, we suggest the extrinsic skew scattering of holes in the nearly flat bands with finite Berry curvature by multiple impurities accounts for the giant AHE. Our work uncovers a disorder-driven bosonic SIT, outlines a global picture of the giant AHE and reveals its correlation with the unconventional CDW in the AV3Sb5 family.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Deterministic generation of skyrmions and antiskyrmions by electric current

Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale spin whirlpools that promise breakthroughs in future spintronic applications. Controlled generation of magnetic skyrmions by electric current is crucial for this purpose. While previous studies have demonstrated this operation, the topological charge of the generated skyrmions is determined by the direction of the external magnetic fields, thus is fixed. Here, we report the current-induced skyrmions creation in a chiral magnet FeGe nanostructure by using the \emph{in-situ} Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. We show that magnetic skyrmions or antiskyrmions can be both transferred from the magnetic helical ground state simply by controlling the direction of the current flow at zero magnetic field. The force analysis and symmetry consideration, backed up by micromagnetic simulations, well explain the experimental results, where magnetic skyrmions or antiskyrmions are created due to the edge instability of the helical state in the presence of spin transfer torque. The on-demand generation of skyrmions and control of their topology by electric current without the need of magnetic field will enable novel purely electric-controlled skyrmion devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Unusual Magnetic Properties in Layered Magnetic Topological Insulator EuSn2As2

EuSn2As2 with layered rhombohedral crystal structure is proposed to be a candidate of intrinsic antiferromagnetic (AFM) topological insulator. Here, we have investigated systematic magnetoresistance (MR) and magnetization measurements on the high quality EuSn2As2 single crystal with the magnetic field both parallel and perpendicular to (00l) plane. Both the kink of magnetic susceptibility and longitudinal resistivity reveal that EuSn2An2 undergoes an AFM transition at TN = 21 K. At T = 2 K, the magnetization exhibits two successive plateaus of ~ 5.6 μB/Eu and ~ 6.6 μB/Eu at the corresponding critical magnetic fields. Combined with the negative longitudinal MR and abnormal Hall resistance, we demonstrate that EuSn2An2 undergoes complicated magnetic transitions from an AFM state to a canted ferromagnetic (FM) state at Hc and then to a polarized FM state at Hs as the magnetic field increase.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Anomalous Metallic States in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Ising Superconductors

The metallic ground state in two-dimensional (2D) superconductors has attracted much attention but is still under intense scrutiny. Especially, the measurements in ultralow temperature region are challenging for 2D superconductors due to the sensitivity to external perturbations. In this work, the resistance saturation induced by external noise, named as "extrinsic anomalous metallic state", is observed in 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductor 4Ha-TaSe2 nanodevices. However, with further decreasing temperature, credible evidence of intrinsic anomalous metallic state is obtained by adequately filtering external radiation. Our work indicates that at ultralow temperatures the anomalous metallic state can be experimentally revealed as the quantum ground state in 2D crystalline TMD superconductors. Besides, Ising superconductivity revealed by ultrahigh in-plane critical field (Bc2//) going beyond the Pauli paramagnetic limit (Bp) is detected in 4Ha-TaSe2, from one-unit-cell device to bulk situation, which might be due to the weak coupling between the TaSe2 sub-monolayers.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Electrical manipulation of skyrmions in a chiral magnet

Writing, erasing and computing are three fundamental operations required by any working electronic devices. Magnetic skyrmions could be basic bits in promising in emerging topological spintronic devices. In particular, skyrmions in chiral magnets have outstanding properties like compact texture, uniform size and high mobility. However, creating, deleting and driving isolated skyrmions, as prototypes of aforementioned basic operations, have been grand challenge in chiral magnets ever since the discovery of skyrmions, and achieving all these three operations in a single device is highly desirable. Here, by engineering chiral magnet Co$_8$Zn$_{10}$Mn$_2$ into the customized micro-devices for in-situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy observations, we implement these three operations of skyrmions using nanosecond current pulses with a low a current density about $10^{10}$ A/m$^2$ at room temperature. A notched structure can create or delete magnetic skyrmions depending on the direction and magnitude of current pulses. We further show that the magnetic skyrmions can be deterministically shifted step-by-step by current pulses, allowing the establishment of the universal current-velocity relationship. These experimental results have immediate significance towards the skyrmion-based memory or logic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗