Quantum Imaging of Magnetic Phase Transitions in Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Nanoflakes

ORAL

Abstract

The family of MnBi2Te4 (Bi2Te3)n has recently emerged as an appealing material platform to explore exotic quantum spin and charge transport behaviors in topological solid state systems. Notable examples include high-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect, layer Hall effect, axion insulator phase, and many others. Establishing a detailed knowledge of the local magnetic properties of MnBi2Te4 (Bi2Te3)n is highly desirable for a comprehensive understanding of these emergent material behaviors. Here, we introduce nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, optically active atomic defects in diamond, to directly image the local static and dynamic spin properties of MnBi2Te4 (Bi2Te3)n nanoflakes, revealing the details of magnetic phase transition and domains at the nanoscale. We further explore the intriguing physics underlying the spin transport in MnBi2Te4 (Bi2Te3)n. Our results highlight the significant advantages of NV centers in studying the local magnetic properties of emergent quantum materials, opening new opportunities for investigating the interplay between topology and magnetism.

*This work is supported by Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award FA9550-20-1-0319 and its Young Investigator Program under award FA9550-21-1-0125, U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under award ECCS-2029558 and DMR-2046227. C.H. and N.N. were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award No. DE-SC0021117 for the bulk single crystal growth and characterization. S.Z. and Y.T. were supported by NSF under Grant DMR-2049979.

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Publication: N. J. McLaughlin, C. Hu, M. Huang, S. Zhang, H. Lu, G. Q. Yan, H. L. Wang, Y. Tserkovnyak, N. Ni, C. H. R. Du, Quantum Imaging of Magnetic Phase Transitions and Spin Fluctuations in Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Nanoflakes, Nano Lett. 22, 5810 (2022).

Presenters

  • Hanyi Lu

    • University of California San Diego
    • University of California, San Diego

Authors

  • Hanyi Lu

    • University of California San Diego
    • University of California, San Diego

  • Chaowei Hu

    • University of California, Los Angeles
    • University of Washington, Seattle

  • Nathan J McLaughlin

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Shu Zhang

    • Max Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems
    • University of California, Los Angeles
    • Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems

  • Mengqi Huang

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Hailong Wang

    • University of California, San Diego

  • Yaroslav Tserkovnyak

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Ni Ni

    • University of California, Los Angeles
    • University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles

  • Chunhui R Du

    • University of California, San Diego