arXiv subjects

Motomi Aoki

Publications and source records attributed to Motomi Aoki.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Strain-Mediated Lattice Reconstruction Enhances Ferromagnetism in Cr2Ge2Te6/WTe2 van der Waals Heterobilayers

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures enable tailored electronic and magnetic phases by stacking atomically thin layers with pristine interfaces. Here, we investigate fully 2D Cr2Ge2Te6/WTe2 heterostructures and identify a strong enhancement of ferromagnetism in Cr2Ge2Te6 (CGT). Magnetotransport measurements across multiple devices with WTe2 thicknesses ranging from monolayer to bulk reveal a robust anomalous Hall effect together with a more than twofold increase of the Curie temperature and substantially enhanced coercive fields. Interface microscopy confirms chemically abrupt vdW interfaces with no detectable interdiffusion, while control experiments rule out processing- or stray-field-induced artifacts. Our experiments and theoretical calculations demonstrate that interfacial charge transfer renders CGT conductive and that proximity-induced lattice distortions in CGT enhance exchange and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. These results establish strain-mediated lattice reconstruction as a strategy for engineering high-temperature magnetic order in 2D heterostructures and clarify that modifications within the magnetic layer itself can govern proximity effects in vdW stacks.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Field-free superconducting diode effect in layered superconductor FeSe

The superconducting diode effect (SDE), where zero-resistance states appear nonreciprocally during current injection, is receiving tremendous interest in both fundamental and applied physics because the SDE is a novel manifestation of symmetry breaking and enables the creation of a novel diode. In particular, magnetic-field-free SDEs have been extensively investigated because of their potential to serve as building blocks for superconducting circuit technology. In this letter, we report the field-free SDE in a layered superconductor, FeSe. Its underlying physics is clarified by systematic controlled experiments to be an interplay of a large thermoelectric response and geometrical asymmetry in FeSe. Our findings can pave a new avenue for the construction of novel material and device platforms utilizing SDEs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Gigantic Anisotropy of Self-Induced Spin-Orbit Torque in Weyl Ferromagnet Co2MnGa

Spin-orbit torque (SOT) is receiving tremendous attention from both fundamental and application-oriented aspects. Co2MnGa, a Weyl ferromagnet that is in a class of topological quantum materials, possesses cubic-based high structural symmetry, the L21 crystal ordering, which should be incapable of hosting anisotropic SOT in conventional understanding. Here we show the discovery of a gigantic anisotropy of self-induced SOT in Co2MnGa. The magnitude of the SOT is comparable to that of heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayer systems despite the high inversion symmetry of the Co2MnGa structure. More surprisingly, a sign inversion of the self-induced SOT is observed for different crystal axes. This finding stems from the interplay of the topological nature of the electronic states and their strong modulation by external strain. Our research enriches the understanding of the physics of self-induced SOT and demonstrates a versatile method for tuning SOT efficiencies in a wide range of materials for topological and spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Anomalous sign inversion of spin-orbit torque in ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic bilayer systems due to self-induced spin-orbit torque

Self-induced spin-orbit torques (SI-SOTs) in ferromagnetic (FM) layers have been overlooked when estimating the spin Hall angle (SHA) of adjacent nonmagnetic (NM) layers. In this work, we observe anomalous sign inversion of the total SOT in the spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance due to the enhanced SI-SOT, and successfully rationalize the sign inversion through a theoretical calculation considering the SHE in both the NM and FM layers. The findings show that using an FM layer whose SHA sign is the same as that of the NM achieves efficient SOT-magnetization switching with the assistance of the SI-SOT. The contribution of the SI-SOT becomes salient for a weakly conductive NM layer, and conventional analyses that do not consider the SI-SOT can overestimate the SHA of the NM layer by a factor of more than 150.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

All-electric spin device operation using the Weyl semimetal, WTe$_2$, at room temperature

Topological quantum materials (TQMs) possess abundant and attractive spin physics, and a Weyl semimetal is the representative material because of the generation of spin polarization that is available for spin devices due to fictitious Weyl monopoles at the edge of the Weyl node. Meanwhile, a Weyl semimetal allows the other but unexplored spin polarization due to local symmetry breaking. Here, we report all-electric spin device operation using a type-II Weyl semimetal, WTe$_2$, at room temperature. The polarization of spins propagating in the all-electric device is perpendicular to the WTe$_2$ plane, which is ascribed to local in-plane symmetry breaking in WTe$_2$, yielding the spin polarization creation of propagating charged carriers, namely, the spin-polarized state creation from the non-polarized state. Systematic control experiments unequivocally negate unexpected artifacts, such as the anomalous Hall effect, the anisotropic magnetoresistance etc. Creation of all-electric spin devices made of TQMs and their operation at room temperature can pave a new pathway for novel spin devices made of TQMs resilient to thermal fluctuation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Observation of gigantic spin conversion anisotropy in bismuth

Whilst the g-factor can be anisotropic due to the spin-orbit interaction (SOI), its existence in solids cannot be simply asserted from a band structure, which hinders progress on studies from such the viewpoints. The g-factor in bismuth (Bi) is largely anisotropic; especially for holes at T-point, the g-factor perpendicular to the trigonal axis is negligibly small (< 0.112), whereas the g-factor along the trigonal axis is very large (62.7). We clarified in this work that the large g- factor anisotropy gives rise to the gigantic spin conversion anisotropy in Bi from experimental and theoretical approaches. Spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance was applied to estimate the spin conversion efficiency in rhombohedral (110) Bi to be 17%, which is unlike the negligibly small efficiency in Bi(111). Harmonic Hall measurements supports the large spin conversion efficiency in Bi(110). This is the first observation of gigantic spin conversion anisotropy as the clear manifestation of the g-factor anisotropy. Beyond the emblematic case of Bi, our study unveiled the significance of the g-factor anisotropy in condensed-matter physics and can pave a pathway toward establishing novel spin physics under g-factor control.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Inplane spin orbit torque magnetization switching and its detection using the spin rectification effect at sub-GHz frequencies

Inplane magnetization reversal of a permalloy/platinum bilayer was detected using the spin rectification effect. Using a sub GHz microwave frequency to excite spin torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST FMR) in the bilayer induces two discrete DC voltages around an external static magnetic field of 0 mT. These discrete voltages depend on the magnetization directions of the permalloy and enable detection of the inplane magnetization reversal. The threshold current density for the magnetization reversal is from 10 to 20 MA/cm^2, the same order as for known spin orbit torque (SOT) switching with in-plane magnetization materials. The magnitude of the signal is the same or larger than that of the typical ST FMR signal; that is, detection of magnetization switching is highly sensitive in spite of deviation from the optimal ST-FMR condition. The proposed method is applicable to a simple device structure even for a small ferromagnetic electrode with a width of 100 nm.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗