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Noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn has attracted wide interest as it is a candidate for Weyl semimetal. Here, we report the observation of topological Hall like signals in Mn3Sn/Pt bilayers grown on Al2O3(0001). X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy results confirm the high epitaxial quality of the c-axis-oriented Mn3Sn films. The detected topological Hall resistivity shows a broad temperature range from 210 to 365 K by tuning the thickness of Mn3Sn from 3 to 15 nm. Compared with previously reported topological Hall effects in Mn3Sn at temperatures below 50 K, the observed high-temperature topological Hall signal is likely due to the stabilization of topological spin textures enabled by the strong spin–orbit coupling of the Pt overlayer and the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction at the Mn3Sn/Pt interface.

The saturation magnetization of Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) epitaxial films 4 to 250 nm in thickness has been determined by complementary measurements including the angular and frequency dependencies of the ferromagnetic resonance fields as well as magnetometry measurements. The YIG films exhibit state-of-the-art crystalline quality, proper stoichiometry, and pure Fe3+ valence state. The values of YIG magnetization obtained from all the techniques significantly exceed previously reported values for single crystal YIG and the theoretical maximum. This enhancement of magnetization, not attributable to off-stoichiometry or other defects in YIG, opens opportunities for tuning magnetic properties in epitaxial films of magnetic insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate nondecaying, steplike electrical switching of tristate Néel order in Pt/α-Fe2O3 bilayers detected by the spin-Hall induced anomalous Hall effect. The as-grown Pt/α-Fe2O3 bilayers exhibit sawtooth switching behavior generated by current pulses. After annealing by a high pulse current, the Hall signals reveal single-pulse saturated, nondecaying, steplike switching. Together with control experiments, we show that the sawtooth switching is due to an artifact of Pt while the actual spin-orbit torque induced antiferromagnetic switching is steplike. Our Monte Carlo simulations explain the switching behavior of α-Fe2O3 Néel order among three in-plane easy axes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topological Hall effect has been a primary indicator of nontrivial spin textures in magnetic materials. We observe the evidence of the topological Hall effect in Pt/Cr2O3 bilayers grown on Al2O3(0001) and Al2O3(112̄0), where the Cr2O3 epitaxial film is an antiferromagnetic insulator. The Pt/Cr2O3 bilayers exhibit topological Hall resistivity for Cr2O3 thicknesses below 6 nm near and above room temperature, which is above the Néel temperature of Cr2O3, revealing the key role of thermal fluctuations in the formation of spin textures. The similarity of topological Hall signals in (0001)- and (112̄0)-oriented Cr2O3 films indicates that the emergence of spin textures is insensitive to crystalline orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saturation magnetization of Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) epitaxial films 4 to 250 nm in thickness has been determined by complementary measurements including the angular and frequency dependencies of the ferromagnetic resonance fields as well as magnetometry measurements. The YIG films exhibit state-of-the-art crystalline quality, proper stoichiometry, and pure Fe3+ valence state. The values of YIG magnetization obtained from all the techniques significantly exceed previously reported values for single crystal YIG and the theoretical maximum. This enhancement of magnetization, not attributable to off-stoichiometry or other defects in YIG, opens opportunities for tuning magnetic properties in epitaxial films of magnetic insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial magnetic anisotropy in magnetic insulators has been largely unexplored. Recently, interface-induced skyrmions and electrical control of magnetization have been discovered in insulator-based heterostructures, which demand a thorough understanding of interfacial interactions in these materials. We observe a substantial, tunable interfacial magnetic anisotropy between Tm3Fe5O12 epitaxial thin films and fifteen nonmagnetic materials spanning a significant portion of the periodic table, which we attribute to Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Our results show a clear distinction between nonmagnetic capping layers from the d block and the p block. This work offers a new path for controlling magnetic phases in magnetic insulators for low-loss spintronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measure the spin Hall angle in Au layers of 5-100 nm thicknesses by spin pumping from Y3Fe5O12 epitaxial films grown by ultrahigh vacuum, off-axis sputtering. We observe a striking increase in the spin Hall angle for Au layers thinner than the measured spin diffusion length of 12.6 nm. In particular, the 5 nm Au layer shows a large spin Hall angle of 0.087, compared to those of 0.016 and 0.017 for the 50 and 100 nm Au layers, respectively, suggesting that the top surface plays a dominant role in spin Hall physics when the spin current is able to reach it. Other spin pumping related parameters, including Gilbert damping enhancement, interfacial spin mixing conductance, and spin current are also determined for Au layers of various thicknesses. Given the pervasive role of ultrathin films in electrical and spin transport applications, this result emphasizes the importance of considering the impact of the top surface and reveals the possibility of tuning critical spin parameters by film thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]