Imaging and writing magnetic domains in the non-collinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn

Nat Commun. 2019 Nov 29;10(1):5459. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13391-z.

Abstract

Non-collinear antiferromagnets are revealing many unexpected phenomena and they became crucial for the field of antiferromagnetic spintronics. To visualize and prepare a well-defined domain structure is of key importance. The spatial magnetic contrast, however, remains extraordinarily difficult to be observed experimentally. Here, we demonstrate a magnetic imaging technique based on a laser induced local thermal gradient combined with detection of the anomalous Nernst effect. We employ this method in one the most actively studied representatives of this class of materials-Mn3Sn. We demonstrate that the observed contrast is of magnetic origin. We further show an algorithm to prepare a well-defined domain pattern at room temperature based on heat assisted recording principle. Our study opens up a prospect to study spintronics phenomena in non-collinear antiferromagnets with spatial resolution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't