Spin-orbit coupling in antiferromagentic MnTe

ORAL

Abstract

We show that the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in α-MnTe impacts the transport behavior by generating an anisotropic valence-band splitting, resulting in four spin-polarized pockets near Gamma. A minimal k-dot-p model is constructed to capture this splitting by group theory analysis, a tight-binding model and ab initio calculations. The model is shown to describe the rotation symmetry of the zero-field planer Hall e ect (PHE). The PHE percentage is determined by the SOC induced band shape, and is quantitatively estimated to be 25% ∼ 31% for an ideal thin film with a single antiferromagnetic domain. The k-dot-p Hamiltonian given by this research is not only effective, but also minimal. The quartic spin-orbit coupling terms in the model is necessary, in the absence of which, the extra C4T symmetry rules out any Hall effect. The predicted value of PHE percentage is an order of magnitude greater than previous experimental observations, suggesting a vast space to optimize the material for device applications.

*This research is partially supported by SHINES, an EFRC funded by the US-DOE, BES under award #SC0012670. J.X.Y. and J.Z. were supported by the DOE of US, BES Award No. DE-SC0016424. G.Y. and K.W. are also supported by US NSF (DMR-1411085), and the ARO contract W911NF-15-1-10561.

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Presenters

  • Gen Yin

    • Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles

Authors

  • Gen Yin

    • Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles

  • Jie-Xiang Yu

    • University of New Hampshire
    • Physics, University of New Hampshire
    • Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire

  • Yizhou Liu

    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside
    • Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside

  • Roger Lake

    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside
    • University of California, Riverside
    • Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside

  • Jiadong Zang

    • Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire
    • University of New Hampshire
    • Department of Physics and Materials Science Program, University of New Hampshire
    • Physics, University of New Hampshire

  • Kang Wang

    • University of California, Los Angeles
    • Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
    • Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles