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Sujeet Chaudhary

Publications and source records attributed to Sujeet Chaudhary.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Nodal-Surface and Flat-Band Driven Large Anomalous Nernst Effect in Epitaxial Ferromagnetic Weyl Metal Fe5Si3

Magnetic topological materials such as Weyl and Dirac magnets exhibit unconventional electronic properties arising from the interplay between magnetic order and band topology, leading to remarkable thermomagnetic and thermoelectric effects. Here, we investigate the ANE in epitaxial thin films of the Weyl ferromagnet candidate Fe5Si3. A pronounced transverse Nernst response exceeding approximately 1.50 microvolt per kelvin is observed at room temperature, together with a giant anomalous Nernst angle of about 0.56, indicating highly efficient conversion between thermal gradients and transverse electric fields. Beyond the anomalous contribution, a sizable topological Nernst signal of approximately 0.43 microvolt per kelvin persists above room temperature, suggesting the possible presence of real-space Berry curvature associated with nontrivial spin textures. First-principles density functional theory calculations combined with symmetry analysis reveal an unconventional electronic structure in which Weyl nodal lines, nodal surfaces, and nearly flat bands coexist near the Fermi level. This rare concurrence of multiple topological band features produces a strongly enhanced and sharply energy-dependent Berry curvature, which governs both the magnitude and temperature evolution of the observed Nernst response. The close quantitative agreement between calculated anomalous Nernst conductivity and experimental results establishes the topological electronic structure as the dominant origin of the observed thermomagnetic transport, highlighting Fe5Si3 as a chemically simple, low-cost binary topological magnet for exploring both real-space and momentum-space Berry-curvature-driven thermoelectric phenomena.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Emergent Anomalous and Topological Hall Responses in an Epitaxial Ferromagnetic Weyl Nodal-Line metal Fe5Si3

The interplay between real and reciprocal space topology yields intrinsically linked transport phenomena in magnetic Weyl systems, wherein the broken time-reversal symmetry, strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, and pronounced uniaxial anisotropy stabilize the momentum-space Berry-curvature monopoles (Weyl nodes) and real-space chiral spin textures. We present a combined first-principles and experimental study of epitaxial Fe5Si3 thin films, establishing them as a magnetic Weyl nodal-line material. First-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations unambiguously reveal that Fe5Si3 hosts a topologically nontrivial electronic structure containing six pairs of Weyl nodes at or near the Fermi level, accompanied by pronounced Berry curvature at high-symmetry points of the Brillouin Zone. High-quality epitaxial films exhibit robust ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature of ~370 K and strong magneto crystalline anisotropy. The magneto transport measurements on epitaxial films reveal the corresponding Berry curvature-driven responses, including a significantly large intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity of 504 S/cm and a high anomalous Hall angle of 5.5%, which is in good agreement with DFT calculations. A negative and non-saturating longitudinal magnetoresistance is observed, consistent with a chiral-anomaly contribution from Weyl fermions near the Fermi level (EF). Furthermore, a substantial topological Hall resistivity of 1.6 μΩ cm robust across a wide temperature range, indicating the possibility of robust chiral spin textures in the thin-film geometry. These combined theoretical and experimental results establish Fe5Si3 as a unique, low-cost, centrosymmetric magnetic Weyl nodal-line material, providing a versatile platform for exploring coupled real and reciprocal space topologies in topological spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Effect of the Lattice-distortion on the Electronic Structure, Magnetic Anisotropy, and Hall Conductivities of the CoFeCrGa Spin Gapless Semiconductor: A First-Principles Study

Spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs), novel quantum materials, are notable for their tunable spin-transport properties. Considering that the SGS materials might have an invariably deformed lattice upon integration into devices, and given that the SGS nature is highly sensitive to external factors, the impact of lattice distortions on the different physical properties of CoFeCrGa SGS alloy has been investigated using density functional theory calculations. For lattice distortions, the uniform strain corresponding to $-6\% \leq ΔV / V_0 \leq 6\% \quad (a: 5.60\text{-}5.83~\textÅ)$, and the tetragonal distortion corresponding to $0.8 \leq c/a \leq 1.2 \quad (a: 5.38\text{-}6.16~\textÅ,~c: 4.92\text{-}6.45~\textÅ)$ are modelled. All uniformly strained CoFeCrGa structures are found to display SGS character, magnetic isotropy, small anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC), and small spin Hall conductivity (SHC) - closely resembling those of the ideal CoFeCrGa structure. In contrast, the tetragonally deformed structures display nearly half-metallic behavior with very high spin polarization, very large magnetic anisotropy ($ \sim 10^6~\mathrm{J/m^3}$), and very large AHC ranging from ($ -215 \text{ to } 250~\mathrm{S/cm} $) depending on the axial ratio of the distorted structure. The SHC, however, does not change significantly under tetragonal distortion and remains nearly of the same order as that of the Y-I ordered structure. In summary, these findings demonstrate that CoFeCrGa displays favorable spintronic properties even under lattice distortions, underscoring its potential for next-generation spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Ab-initio investigation of the interfacial structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Co$_{2}$MnAl/X (X = MgO and GaAs) heterostructures

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of (100)-oriented Co$_{2}$MnAl/MgO and Co$_{2}$MnAl/GaAs heterostructures are investigated using plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory. For the Co$_{2}$MnAl/MgO, CoCo-MgMg, CoCo-OO, MnAl-MgMg, and MnAl-OO interfaces in top-to-top configurations are studied, while for Co$_{2}$MnAl/GaAs, both top-to-top (Co-Ga, Co-As, Mn-Ga, Mn-As, Al-Ga, Al-As) and bridge-site (CoCo-Ga, CoCo-As, MnAl-Ga, MnAl-As) interfaces are considered. The interfacial geometries featuring Co- or CoCo-atomic terminations for the Co2MnAl slab exhibit larger adhesion energies compared to those terminated with Mn-, Al-, or MnAl-atomic terminations. This indicates their greater interfacial stability. In contrast, MnAl-, Mn-, or Al-terminated interfaces preserve near half-metallicity, whereas Co- and CoCo-terminated geometries display a strongly metallic character. All studied interfaces show enhanced magnetic moments relative to their bulk counterparts, primarily arising from interfacial atoms and their nearest neighbours. These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing Co2MnAl-based heterostructures in spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Surface properties of Co$_2$MnAl Heusler alloy

Using the plane-wave pseudopotential method within the framework of density functional theory, Co$_2$MnAl (100), (110), and (111) surfaces with different atomic terminations have been studied in the context of some key spintronics properties, viz., surface energy, half-metallicity, magnetization, and magnetic anisotropy. The present study reveals that the MnAl-(100), Co-Al-(111), and Al-(111) surfaces exhibit negative surface energies over a wide range of chemical potentials, indicating their strong structural stability. The MnAl-(100), CoCoMnAl-(110), and Co-Mn-(111) surfaces maintain the nearly half-metallic nature like the bulk-Co$_2$MnAl, while this nearly half-metallic nature even improved for the Al-(111) surface. In contrast, the rest of the considered surfaces, CoCo-(100), Co-Al-(111) and Mn-(111) surfaces, display the strong metallic nature. Magnetization is enhanced for most surface configurations, except for Al-(111), where it decreases due to reduced moments of the exterior atoms. Regarding magnetic anisotropy, only the MnAl-(100) and Co-Mn-(111) surfaces exhibit the positive magneto-crystalline anisotropy of $\sim$0.23 and $\sim$0.33 mJ/m2, respectively. All these findings suggest that the Co-Mn-(111) and MnAl-(100) surfaces are quite appealing for spintronics applications, considering the structural stability, electronic properties, and magnetic anisotropy.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Tailoring magnetic properties of CoFeB films via tungsten buffer and capping layers

Controlling the interface between W and CoFeB-based buffer or capping layers at an appropriate temperature is essential for modifying the strength of magnetic anisotropy. In this work, we systematically explore the impact of W buffer and capping layers on the structural, topological, and magnetic anisotropy properties of W (5 nm)/CoFeB(10 nm) and CoFeB(10 nm)/W(3 nm) bilayers sputtered at room temperature (RT) and annealed at an optimal annealing temperature (TA) of 400 C. Our findings demonstrate that the bilayer films uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) with out-of-plane coercivity (Hcp) is highly influenced by the W buffer, capping layers, and TA. Specifically, the Hcp of the CoFeB layer with the buffer and capping layers annealed at 400 C samples exceed several times the coercivity of those unannealed. CoFeB buffered with W and annealed at 400 C shows larger Hcp, two-fold UMA, and higher in-plane UMA energy density (Keff) than the CoFeB/W bilayers, which can be attributed to the W buffer layer inducing the crystallization of CoFeB during annealing. The W buffer, capping layers, and the TA for W and CoFeB-based bilayer samples significantly alter the surface morphology, grain sizes, and surface roughness. The XRD analysis reveals nano-crystallites embedded in the larger grains of the 400 C annealed samples. Hence, this work offers a promising approach to achieving high thermal stability of UMA in W and CoFeB-based spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Large Orbital to Charge Conversion in Weak Spin Orbit Coupling Element Zr via Spin Orbital Pumping and Spin Orbital Seebeck Effect

The generation of spin-orbital currents is crucial for advancing energy-efficient spintronic devices. Here, the intricate process involved in the generation and conversion of spin and orbital to charge currents in Zr(t=2, 3, 4.5, 6, &10nm)/Co60Fe20B20(CFB), Zr/Pt/CFB, and Zr/Pt/CFB/Pt heterostructures are investigated using spin-orbital pumping ferromagnetic resonance and longitudinal spin-orbital Seebeck effect measurements. The moderate spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the CFB layer facilitates the simultaneous generation of spin and orbital currents, which are transferred into adjacent Zr and Pt layers. Different spin-orbital to charge current contributions, namely, Inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE), Inverse orbital Hall effect (IOHE), and Inverse orbital Rashba-Edelstein effect (IOREE) are analyzed. Notably, introducing a single Pt layer increases the spin-orbital to charge current conversion via combined effects: ISHE in Pt, IOREE in Zr/Pt interface. An enhanced effective spin-orbital Hall angle (θ_eff) of 0.120 {\pm} 0.004 is observed for Zr/Pt/CFB, compared to that of 0.065 {\pm} 0.002 for the Zr/CFB, and 0.077 {\pm} 0.003 for the Zr/Pt/CFB/Pt heterostructures. These findings provide new insights into orbital-moment dependent phenomena and offer promising avenues for developing advanced spintronic devices exploiting both spin and orbital degrees of freedom, even in materials with lower SOC.

physics.app-ph↗

Impact of Annealing on Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in W/MgAl2O4/CoFeMnSi/W/CoFeMnSi/MgAl2O4/W. Double Storage Layers for Upcoming MTJs

In this study, we achieved the improvement of uniaxial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in the W/MgAl2O4/CoFeMnSi/W/CoFeMnSi/MgAl2O4/W heterostructure by manipulating the annealing temperature (TA) [350 C, 450 C, and 550 C]. We observed a maximum effective PMA energy density (Keff) of = 1.604 x 106 erg/cc with low saturation magnetization (Ms) at the specified TA. The enhancement of Keff with Ms is significantly influenced by structural variations at the interfaces of CoFeMnSi and MgAl2O4, attributed to sufficient interfacial oxidation dependent on the TA. The TA was identified as a critical factor affecting the surface morphology, grain size, and surface roughness of the multilayer. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) measurements were employed to confirm the presence of Co-O or Fe-O bond in the multilayer structures, elucidating the true origin of PMA. The control of interfacial oxidation at the interface during annealing is crucial for regulating the strength of PMA. Therefore, this double CoFeMnSi/MgAl2O4-based multilayer presents a promising avenue, serving as a favorable candidate for future p-MTJs-based spintronic devices with enhanced thermal stability.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Effect of Point Defects and Lattice Distortions on the Structural, Electronic, and Magnetic properties of Co$_2$MnAl Heusler alloy

The effects of various point defects and lattice distortions on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Co$_2$MnAl alloy are investigated using density functional theory calculations. For the point defects, six types of binary antisites, three types of ternary antisites, and three kinds of vacancies have been simulated with different disorder degrees, up to a maximum of 12.50%. For the lattice distortions, cubic strain within -10% $\leq$$Δ{V/V_0}$$\leq$ 10% (corresponding to 5.50Å $\leq$ a $\leq$5.88Å) and tetragonal distortions with 0.5$\leq$$\textit{c/a}$$\leq$1.5 at three different unit-cell volumes - $\textit{V}_0$ and ($\textit{V}_0$$\pm5$%$\textit{V}_0$) have been considered. The Co$_{Al}$ and Mn$_{Al}$ binary antisite disordered structures (namely, Co$_{2.0625}$MnAl$_{0.9375}$, Co$_{2.125}$MnAl$_{0.875}$, Co$_2$Mn$_{1.0625}$Al$_{0.9375}$ and Co$_2$Mn$_{1.125}$Al$_{0.875}$) and (Co$_{Al}$+Mn$_{Al}$) ternary antisite disordered structure (Co$_{2.0625}$Mn$_{1.0625}$Al$_{0.875}$) exhibit perfect half-metallicity. The rest of the antisite disorders have a marginal effect on the half-metallic properties of Co$_2$MnAl, along with high spin polarization ($\textit{P}$ $\geq$ 70%) and nearly same magnetization ($\textit{M$_s$}$) as that for ideal structure. Conversely, the vacancy defects significantly affect the electronic and magnetic properties. The cubic strained structures exhibit high $\textit{P}$ and constant $\textit{M$_s$}$. Under negative strain within -10% $\leq$$Δ{V/V_0}$$\leq$ -7% (for 5.50Å $\leq$ a $\leq$ 5.58Å), the strained structures have perfect half-metallicity. On the other hand, tetragonal distortions lead to significant degradation in half-metallic behavior, except for small distortion values $Δ{c/a}$, irrespective of their volume.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Interfacial origin of unconventional spin-orbit torque in Py/$γ-$IrMn$_{3}$

Angle-resolved spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements are carried out in heterostructures consisting of Py (Ni$_{81}$Fe$_{19}$) and a noncollinear antiferromagnetic quantum material $γ-$IrMn$_{3}$. The structural characterization reveals that $γ-$IrMn$_{3}$ is polycrystalline in nature. A large exchange bias of 158~Oe is found in Py/$γ-$IrMn$_{3}$ at room temperature, while $γ-$IrMn$_{3}$/Py and Py/Cu/$γ-$IrMn$_{3}$ exhibited no exchange bias. Regardless of the exchange bias and stacking sequence, we observe a substantial unconventional out-of-plane anti-damping torque when $γ-$IrMn$_{3}$ is in direct contact with Py. The magnitude of the out-of-plane spin-orbit torque efficiency is found to be twice as large as the in-plane spin-orbit torque efficiency. The unconventional spin-orbit torque vanishes when a Cu spacer is introduced between Py and $γ-$IrMn$_{3}$, indicating that the unconventional spin-orbit torque in this system originates at the interface. These findings are important for realizing efficient antiferromagnet-based spintronic devices via interfacial engineering.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Giant spin-orbit torque efficiency in all-epitaxial heterostructures

A large anti-damping spin-obit torque (SOT) efficiency in magnetic heterostructures is a prerequisite to realize energy efficient spin torque based magnetic memories and logic devices. The efficiency can be characterized in terms of the spin-orbit fields generated by anti-damping torques when an electric current is passed through the non-magnetic layer. We report a giant spin-orbit field of 48.96 (27.50) mT at an applied current density of 1 MAcm-2 in beta-W interfaced Co60Fe40 (Ni81Fe19)/TiN epitaxial structures due to an anti-damping like torque, which results in a magnetization auto-oscillation current density as low as 1.68(3.27) MAcm-2. The spin-orbit field value increases with decrease of beta-W layer thickness, which affirms that epitaxial surface states are responsible for the extraordinary large efficiency. SOT induced energy efficient in-plane magnetization switching in large 20x100 um2 structures has been demonstrated by Kerr microscopy and the findings are supported by results from micromagnetic simulations. The observed giant SOT efficiencies in the studied all-epitaxial heterostructures are comparable to values reported for topological insulators. These results confirm that by utilizing epitaxial material combinations an extraordinary large SOT efficiency can be achieved using semiconducting industry compatible 5d heavy metals, which provides immediate solutions for the realization of energy efficient spin-logic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Direct measurement of interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at the MoS$_{\rm 2}$/Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$ interface

We report on a direct measurement of sizable interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (iDMI) at the interface of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (2D-TMD), MoS$_{\rm 2}$ and Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$ (Py) using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. A clear asymmetry in spin-wave dispersion is measured in MoS$_{\rm 2}$/Py/Ta, while no such asymmetry is detected in the reference Py/Ta system. A linear scaling of the DMI constant with the inverse of Py thickness indicates the interfacial origin of the observed DMI. We further observe an enhancement of DMI constant in three to four layer MoS$_{\rm 2}$/Py system (by 56$\%$) as compared to 2 layer MoS$_{\rm 2}$/Py which is caused by a higher density of MoO$_{\rm 3}$ defect species in the case of three to four layer MoS$_{\rm 2}$. The results open possibilities of spin-orbitronic applications utilizing the 2D-TMD based heterostructures.

physics.app-ph↗

Damping-like Torque in Monolayer 1T-TaS$_2$

A damping-like spin orbit torque (SOT) is a prerequisite for ultralow power spin logic devices. Here, we report on the damping-like SOT in just one monolayer of the conducting transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) TaS$_2$ interfaced with a NiFe (Py) ferromagnetic layer. The charge-spin conversion efficiency is found to be 0.25$\pm$0.03 and the spin Hall conductivity (2.63 $\times$ 10$^5$ $\frac{\hbar}{2e}$ $Ω^{-1}$ m$^{-1}$) is found to be superior to values reported for other TMDs. The origin of this large damping-like SOT can be found in the interfacial properties of the TaS$_2$/Py heterostructure, and the experimental findings are complemented by the results from density functional theory calculations. The dominance of damping-like torque demonstrated in our study provides a promising path for designing next generation conducting TMD based low-powered quantum memory devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Extraordinary efficient spin-orbit torque switching in (W, Ta)/epitaxial-Co60Fe40/TiN heterostructures

The giant spin Hall effect in magnetic heterostructures along with low spin memory loss and high interfacial spin mixing conductance are prerequisites to realize energy efficient spin torque based logic devices. We report giant spin Hall angle (SHA) of 28.67 (5.09) for W (Ta) interfaced epi- Co60Fe40/TiN structures. The spin-orbit torque switching current density (J_Crit) is as low as 1.82 (8.21) MA/cm2 in W (Ta)/Co60Fe40(t_CoFe)/TiN structures whose origin lies in the epitaxial interfaces. These structures also exhibit very low spin memory loss and high spin mixing conductance. These extraordinary values of SHA and therefore ultra-low J_Crit in semiconducting industry compatible epitaxial materials combinations open up a new direction for the realization of energy efficient spin logic devices by utilizing epitaxial interfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Spin pumping and spin torque in interfacial tailored Co2FeAl/\b{eta}-Ta layers

The Heusler ferromagnetic (FM) compound Co2FeAl interfaced with a high-spin orbit coupling non-magnetic (NM) layer is a promising candidate for energy efficient spin logic circuits. The circuit potential depends on the strength of angular momentum transfer across the FM/NM interface; hence, requiring low spin memory loss and high spin-mixing conductance. To highlight this issue, spin pumping and spin-transfer torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements have been performed on Co_2FeAl/β-Ta heterostructures tailored with Cu interfacial layers. The interface tailored structure yields an enhancement of the effective spin-mixing conductance. The interface transparency and spin memory loss corrected values of the spin-mixing conductance, spin Hall angle and spin diffusion length are found to be 3.40 \pm 0.01 \times 10^{19} m^{-2}, 0.029 \pm 0.003, and 2.3 \pm 0.5 nm, respectively. Furthermore, a high current modulation of the effective damping of around 2.1 % has been achieved at an applied current density of 1 \times 10^9 A/m^2 , which clearly indicates the potential of using this heterostructure for energy efficient control in spin devices

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Direct Observation of Unusual Interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in Graphene/NiFe/Ta Heterostructure

Graphene/ferromagnet interface promises a plethora of new science and technology. The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction (iDMI) is essential for stabilizing chiral spin textures, which are important for future spintronic devices. Here, we report direct observation of iDMI in graphene/Ni80Fe20/Ta heterostructure from non-reciprocity in spin-wave dispersion using Brillouin light scattering (BLS) technique. Linear scaling of iDMI with the inverse of Ni80Fe20 thicknesses suggests primarily interfacial origin of iDMI. Both iDMI and spin-mixing conductance increase with the increase in defect density of graphene obtained by varying argon pressure during sputter deposition of Ni80Fe20. This suggests that the observed iDMI originates from defect-induced extrinsic spin-orbit coupling at the interface. The direct observation of iDMI at graphene/ferromagnet interface without perpendicular magnetic anisotropy opens new route in designing thin film heterostructures based on 2-D materials for controlling chiral spin structure such as skyrmions and bubbles, and magnetic domain-wall-based storage and memory devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Large spin current generation by the spin Hall effect in mixed crystalline phase Ta thin films

Manipulation of the magnetization in heavy-metal/ferromagnetic bilayers via the spin-orbit torque requires high spin Hall conductivity of the heavy metal. We measure inverse spin Hall voltage using a co-planar wave-guide based broadband ferromagnetic resonance set-up in Py/Ta system with varying crystalline phase of Ta. We demonstrate a strong correlation between the measured spin mixing conductance and spin Hall conductivity with the crystalline phase of Ta thin films. We found a large spin Hall conductivity of $-2439~(\hbar/e)~Ω^{-1}$cm$^{-1}$ for low-resistivity (68 $μΩ-$cm) Ta film having mixed crystalline phase, which we attribute to an extrinsic mechanism of the spin Hall effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Effect of in-situ electric field assisted growth on anti-phase boundaries in epitaxial Fe3O4 thin films on MgO

Anti-phase boundaries (APBs) normally form as a consequence of the initial growth conditions in all spinel ferrite thin films. The presence of APBs in epitaxial films of the inverse spinel Fe3O4 alters their electronic and magnetic properties due to strong antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions across these boundaries. The effect of using in-situ electric field assisted growth on the migration of APBs in hetero epitaxial Fe3O4(100)/MgO(100) thin films have been explored in the present work. The electric field assisted growth is found to reduce the AF interactions across APBs and as a consequence APBs free thin film like properties are obtained, which have been probed by electronic, magnetic and structural characterization. An increase in energy associated with the nucleation and/or early stage of the growth and, therefore, a corresponding increase in surface mobility of the ad-atoms play a critical role in controlling the density of APBs. This innovative technique can be employed to grow epitaxial spinel thin films with controlled AF interactions across APBs.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗