arXiv subjects

Zhaoqing Ding

Publications and source records attributed to Zhaoqing Ding.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Writing and erasing skyrmions by single ultrafast laser pulses in monolayer Janus 2D magnets

Skyrmions in 2D magnets are promising candidates for nonvolatile, low-power, and high-density spintronic memories. However, their experimental realization at the 2D limit remains challenging, owing to the difficulty in engineering the required chiral magnetic interactions. Here, we report the creation and direct imaging of N\'eel-type skyrmions in Janus 2D chromium chalcogenides using synchrotron X-ray photoemission electron microscopy, and scanning nitrogen-vacancy magnetometry, which exhibit field-free stability, nonvolatility, and size tunability. First-principles calculations and micromagnetic simulations reveal that Janus-surface-induced inversion-symmetry breaking enhances the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, providing the microscopic mechanism for skyrmion stabilization and tunability. We further achieve reversible skyrmion writing and erasing using a single ultrafast laser pulse in a magnetic field as low as 300 Oe, demonstrating the excellent manipulability of this 2D magnetic system. These results establish Janus engineering as a route to creating and manipulating nonvolatile skyrmions in atomically thin magnets, with implications for skyrmion-based low-power spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Emergent Chiral Spin Crystal Phase in (111) SrRuO3 Thin Films

Perovskite ruthenates are fascinating playgrounds for exploring topological spin textures, but generally rely on extrinsic mechanisms to trigger the noncoplanar states. Here we report the discovery of an emergent chiral spin crystal phase in (111) SrRuO3 epitaxial films, characterized by a significant topological Hall effect and noncoplanar spin arrangements with different propagation vectors along two orthogonal directions. Instead of driven by the enhanced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction due to broken inversion symmetry at heterointerfaces, this emergent state arises intrinsically from the interplay of dipolar interactions and magnetic frustration, leading to the stabilization of topological phases in much thicker films. These findings open a new pathway for creating and controlling the topological spin states in perovskites, with broad implications for spintronic device design.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

From Ferromagnet to Antiferromagnet: Dimensional Crossover in (111) SrRuO3 Ultrathin Films

SrRuO3 is a canonical itinerant ferromagnet, yet its properties in the extreme two-dimensional limit on a (111) crystal plane remain largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate a complete transformation of its ground state driven by dimensional reduction. As the thickness of (111)-oriented SrRuO3 films is reduced to a few unit cells, the system transitions from a metallic ferromagnet to a semiconducting antiferromagnet. This emergent antiferromagnetism is evidenced by a vanishing magnetic remanence and most strikingly, by the appearance of an unconventional twelve-fold anisotropic magnetoresistance. First-principles calculations confirm that an A-type antiferromagnetic order is the stable ground state in the ultrathin limit. Our findings establish (111) dimensional engineering as a powerful route to manipulate correlated electron states and uncover novel functionalities for antiferromagnetic spintronics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Weak antilocalization and localization in Eu$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$ (111) thin films by reactive solid phase epitaxy

Thin films of the pyrochlore iridates along the [111] direction have drawn significant attention to investigate exotic correlated topological phenomena. Here, we report the fabrication of Eu$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$ thin films via reactive solid phase epitaxy using the pulsed laser deposition technique. We mainly focus on the transport properties of the films below the magnetic phase transition at 105 K. Analyses on the temperature and the field dependences of resistivity unveil the presence of weak antilocalization, a characteristic signature of the Weyl semimetallic state that has been "buried" by magnetism. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the contribution from many-body interactions in Eu2Ir2O7 thin films is enhanced at lower temperatures and competes with the weak antilocalization effect, and eventually drives the crossover to weak localization at 2 K.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Magnetism and berry phase manipulation in an emergent structure of perovskite ruthenate by (111) strain engineering

The interplay among symmetry of lattices, electronic correlations, and Berry phase of the Bloch states in solids has led to fascinating quantum phases of matter. A prototypical system is the magnetic Weyl candidate SrRuO3, where designing and creating electronic and topological properties on artificial lattice geometry is highly demanded yet remains elusive. Here, we establish an emergent trigonal structure of SrRuO3 by means of heteroepitaxial strain engineering along the [111] crystallographic axis. Distinctive from bulk, the trigonal SrRuO3 exhibits a peculiar XY-type ferromagnetic ground state, with the coexistence of high-mobility holes likely from linear Weyl bands and low-mobility electrons from normal quadratic bands as carriers. The presence of Weyl nodes are further corroborated by capturing intrinsic anomalous Hall effect, acting as momentum-space sources of Berry curvatures. The experimental observations are consistent with our first-principles calculations, shedding light on the detailed band topology of trigonal SrRuO3 with multiple pairs of Weyl nodes near the Fermi level. Our findings signify the essence of magnetism and Berry phase manipulation via lattice design and pave the way towards unveiling nontrivial correlated topological phenomena.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Engineered Kondo screening and nonzero Berry phase in SrTiO3/LaTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

Controlling the interplay between localized spins and itinerant electrons at the oxide interfaces can lead to exotic magnetic states. Here we devise SrTiO3/LaTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures with varied thickness of the LaTiO3 layer (n monolayers) to investigate the magnetic interactions in the two-dimensional electron gas system. The heterostructures exhibit significant Kondo effect when the LaTiO3 layer is rather thin (n = 2, 10), manifesting the strong interaction between the itinerant electrons and the localized magnetic moments at the interfaces, while the Kondo effect is greatly inhibited when n = 20. Notably, distinct Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations are observed and a nonzero Berry phase of π is extracted when the LaTiO3 layer is rather thin (n = 2, 10), which is absent in the heterostructure with thicker LaTiO3 layer (n = 20). The observed phenomena are consistently interpreted as a result of sub-band splitting and symmetry breaking due to the interplay between the interfacial Rashba spin-orbit coupling and the magnetic orderings in the heterostructures. Our findings provide a route for exploring and manipulating nontrivial electronic band structures at complex oxide interfaces.

cond-mat.str-el↗