Search

We unambiguously identify the origin of the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metal bilayers. Previously, different reorientations of the Neel order for the same current direction were reported for different device geometries and different switching mechanisms were proposed. Here, we combine concurrent electrical readout and optical imaging of the switching of antiferromagnetic domains with simulations of the current-induced temperature and strain gradients. By comparing the switching in specially engineered NiO/Pt device and pulsing geometries, we can rule out spin-orbit torque based mechanisms and identify a thermomagnetoelastic mechanism to dominate the switching of antiferromagnetic domains, reconciling previous reports.

We investigate the role of domain walls in the ultrafast magnon dynamics of an antiferromagnetic NiO single crystal in a pump-probe experiment with variable pump photon energy. Analysing the amplitude of the energy-dependent photo-induced ultrafast spin dynamics, we detect a yet unreported coupling between the material's characteristic THz- and a GHz-magnon modes. We explain this unexpected coupling between two orthogonal eigenstates of the corresponding Hamiltonian by modelling the magneto-elastic interaction between spins in different domains. We find that such interaction, in the non-linear regime, couples the two different magnon modes via the domain walls and it can be optically exploited via the exciton-magnon resonance., 6 pages, 4 figures

Antiferromagnets have recently surged as the prominent material platform for the next generation spintronics devices. Despite the remarkable abundance of antiferromagnets and the variety of their spin textures in nature, they share a widely common, if not ubiquitous, feature. Magnetoelasticity, which is expressed as strictions of different origin, relativistic and/or exchange, significantly contributes to the magnetic anisotropy of antiferromagnets. Crucially, a general theoretical framework able to address the role of domain walls on the spin dynamics in antiferromagnets in the presence of magnetoelasticity is lacking. Here we tackle this problem developing a very general macroscopic phenomenological model. We demonstrate that the magnetoelasticity defines both the equilibrium and dynamical magnetic properties of easy-plane antiferromagnets in linear and nonlinear regimes. We employ our model to reproduce experimental results, showing that domain walls majorly affect the optically driven ultrafast nonlinear spin dynamics. Our model can be applied to a wide group of materials and, if properly extended, can be utilised to describe also other physical scenarios, key in the establishment of concepts for antiferromagnetic spintronics. published

We unravel the origin of current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metal systems. We utilize concurrent transport and magneto-optical measurements to image the switching of antiferromagnetic domains in specially engineered devices of NiO/Pt bilayers. Different electrical pulsing and device geometries reveal different final states of the switching with respect to the current direction. We can explain these through simulations of the temperature induced strain and we identify the thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism combined with thermal excitations as the origin, in which the final state is defined by the strain distributions and heat is required to switch the antiferromagnetic domains. We show that such a potentially very versatile non-contact mechanism can explain the previously reported contradicting observations of the switching final state, which were attributed to spin-orbit torque mechanisms.

We achieve current-induced switching in collinear insulating antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt, with fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy. This is measured electrically by spin Hall magnetoresistance and confirmed by the magnetic field-induced spin-flop transition of the CoO layer. By applying current pulses and magnetic fields, we quantify the efficiency of the acting current-induced torques and estimate a current-field equivalence ratio of 4×10^{-11} T A^{-1} m^{2}. The Neel vector final state (n⊥j) is in line with a thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism for a negative magnetoelastic constant of the CoO.

Comment: 16 pages (manuscript and supplementary), 12 figures, We achieve current-induced switching in collinear insulating antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt, with fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy. This is measured electrically by spin Hall magnetoresistance and confirmed by the magnetic field-induced spin-flop transition of the CoO layer. By applying current pulses and magnetic fields, we quantify the efficiency of the acting current-induced torques and estimate a current-field equivalence ratio of $4x10^{-11} T A^{-1} m^2$. The N\'eel vector final state ($n \perp j$) is in line with a thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism for a negative magnetoelastic constant of the CoO.

NiO is a prototypical antiferromagnet with a characteristic resonance frequency in the THz range. From atomistic spin dynamics simulations that take into account the crystallographic structure of NiO, and in particular a magnetic anisotropy respecting its symmetry, we describe antiferromagnetic switching at THz frequency by a spin transfer torque mechanism. Sub-picosecond S-state switching between the six allowed stable spin directions is found for reasonably achievable spin currents, like those generated by laser induced ultrafast demagnetization. A simple procedure for picosecond writing of a six-state memory is described, thus opening the possibility to speed up current logic of electronic devices by several orders of magnitude., Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures

We observe a strong thermally-controlled magnon-mediated interlayer coupling of two ferromagnetic layers via an antiferromagnetic spacer in spin-valve type trilayers. The effect manifests itself as a field-induced coherent switching of the two ferromagnets, which can be controlled by varying temperature and the spacer thickness. We explain the observed behavior as due to a strong hybridization of the ferro- and antiferro-magnetic magnon modes in the trilayer at temperatures just below the N\'eel temperature of the antiferromagnetic spacer., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We probe the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metals systems, by electrical spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements and direct imaging, identifying a reversal occurring by domain wall (DW) motion. We observe switching of more than one third of the antiferromagnetic domains by the application of current pulses. Our data reveal two different magnetic switching mechanisms leading together to an efficient switching, namely the spin-current induced effective magnetic anisotropy variation and the action of the spin torque on the DWs., 26 pages, including supplementary material

In antiferromagnetic spintronics, it is essential to separate the resistance modifications of purely magnetic origin from other effects generated by current pulses intended to switch the N\'eel vector. We investigate the magnetoresistance effects resulting from magnetic field induced reorientations of the staggered magnetization of epitaxial antiferromagnetic Mn2Au(001) thin films. The samples were exposed to 60 T magnetic field pulses along different crystallographic in-plane directions of Mn2Au(001), while their resistance was measured. For the staggered magnetization aligned via a spin-flop transition parallel to the easy [110]-direction, an ansiotropic magnetoresistance of -0.15 % was measured. In the case of a forced alignment of the staggered magnetization parallel to the hard [100]-direction, evidence for a larger anisotropic magnetoresistance effect was found. Furthermore, transient resistance reductions of about 1 % were observed, which we associate with the annihilation of antiferromagnetic domain walls by the magnetic field pulses., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Antiferromagnets possess a number of intriguing and promising properties for electronic devices, which include a vanishing net magnetic moment and thus insensitivity to large magnetic fields and characteristic terahertz frequency dynamics. However, probing the antiferromagnetic ordering is challenging without synchrotron-based facilities. Here, we determine the material parameters of the insulating iron oxide hematite, α-Fe2O3, using the surface sensitive spin-Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Combined with a simple analytical model, we extract the antiferromagnetic anisotropies and the bulk Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya field over a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields. Across the Morin phase transition, we show that the electrical response is dominated by the antiferromagnetic Néel vector rather than by the emergent weak magnetic moment. Our results highlight that the surface sensitivity of SMR enables access to the magnetic anisotropies of antiferromagnetic crystals, and also of thin films, where other methods to determine anisotropies such as bulk-sensitive magnetic susceptibility measurements do not provide sufficient sensitivity. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

As a candidate material for applications such as magnetic memory, polycrystalline antiferromagnets offer the same robustness to external magnetic fields, THz spin dynamics, and lack of stray field as their single crystalline counterparts, but without the limitation of epitaxial growth and lattice matched substrates. Here, we first report the detection of the average Neel vector orientiation in polycrystalline NiO via spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Secondly, by applying strain through a piezo-electric substrate, we reduce the critical magnetic field required to reach a saturation of the SMR signal, indicating a change of the anisotropy. Our results are consistent with polycrystalline NiO exhibiting a positive sign of the in-plane magnetostriction. This method of anisotropy-tuning offers an energy efficient, on-chip alternative to manipulate a polycrystalline antiferromagnets magnetic state.

Antiferromagnetic materials promise improved performance for spintronic applications, as they are robust against external magnetic field perturbations and allow for faster magnetization dynamics compared to ferromagnets. The direct observation of the antiferromagnetic state, however, is challenging due to the absence of a macroscopic magnetization. Here, we show that the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) is a versatile tool to probe the antiferromagnetic spin structure via simple electrical transport experiments by investigating the easy-plane antiferromagnetic insulators $\alpha$-Fe2O3 (hematite) and NiO in bilayer heterostructures with a Pt heavy metal top electrode. While rotating an external magnetic field in three orthogonal planes, we record the longitudinal and the transverse resistivities of Pt and observe characteristic resistivity modulations consistent with the SMR effect. We analyze both their amplitude and phase and compare the data to the results from a prototypical collinear ferrimagnetic Y3Fe5O12/Pt bilayer. The observed magnetic field dependence is explained in a comprehensive model, based on two magnetic sublattices and taking into account magnetic field-induced modifications of the domain structure. Our results show that the SMR allows us to understand the spin configuration and to investigate magnetoelastic effects in antiferromagnetic multi-domain materials. Furthermore, in $\alpha$-Fe2O3/Pt bilayers, we find an unexpectedly large SMR amplitude of $2.5 \times 10^{-3}$, twice as high as for prototype Y3Fe5O12/Pt bilayers, making the system particularly interesting for room-temperature antiferromagnetic spintronic applications.

We observe the excitation of collective modes in the terahertz (THz) range driven by the recently discovered Neel spin-orbit torques (NSOTs) in the metallic antiferromagnet Mn_{2}Au. Temperature-dependent THz spectroscopy reveals a strong absorption mode centered near 1 THz, which upon heating from 4 to 450 K softens and loses intensity. A comparison with the estimated eigenmode frequencies implies that the observed mode is an in-plane antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR). The AFMR absorption strength exceeds those found in antiferromagnetic insulators, driven by the magnetic field of the THz radiation, by 3 orders of magnitude. Based on this and the agreement with our theory modeling, we infer that the driving mechanism for the observed mode is the current-induced NSOT. Here the electric field component of the THz pulse drives an ac current in the metal, which subsequently drives the AFMR. This electric manipulation of the Neel order parameter at high frequencies makes Mn_{2}Au a prime candidate for antiferromagnetic ultrafast memory applications.

International audience; Antiferromagnets provide greater stability than their ferromagnetic counterparts, but antiferromagnetic spin textures andnanostructures also exhibit more complex, and often faster, dynamics, offering new functionalities for spintronics devices.

Antiferromagnets (AFM) with a zero, or very small macroscopic magnetization, are promising materials in spintronics. Based on generalized Landau-Lifshitz equations, we examine the magnetic dynamics of three-sublattice AFM in the presence of a spin-polarized current, and in particular, the switching processes between different equilibrium states. We found the conditions for effective switching by pulsed and DC, as well as by an external magnetic field. We examined the features of stationary dynamic states, caused by the current. The obtained results can be used to develop high-speed elements of AFM-based memory materials.

Antiferromagnets are magnetically ordered materials which exhibit no net moment and thus are insensitive to magnetic fields. Antiferromagnetic spintronics aims to take advantage of this insensitivity for enhanced stability, while at the same time active manipulation up to the natural THz dynamic speeds of antiferromagnets is possible, thus combining exceptional storage density and ultra-fast switching. However, the active manipulation and read-out of the N\'eel vector (staggered moment) orientation is challenging. Recent predictions have opened up a path based on a new spin-orbit torque, which couples directly to the N\'eel order parameter. This N\'eel spin-orbit torque was first experimentally demonstrated in a pioneering work using semimetallic CuMnAs. Here we demonstrate for Mn$_2$Au, a good conductor with a high ordering temperature suitable for applications, reliable and reproducible switching using current pulses and readout by magnetoresistance measurements. The symmetry of the torques agrees with theoretical predictions and a large read-out magnetoresistance effect of more than $\simeq 6$~$\%$ is reproduced by ab initio transport calculations., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Searching for novel spin caloric effects in antiferromagnets we study the properties of thermally activated magnons in the presence of an external spin current and temperature gradient. We predict the spin Peltier effect -- generation of a heat flux by spin accumulation -- in an antiferromagnetic insulator with cubic or uniaxial magnetic symmetry. This effect is related with spin-current induced splitting of the relaxation times of the magnons with opposite spin direction. We show that the Peltier effect can trigger antiferromagnetic domain wall motion with a force whose value grows with the temperature of a sample. At a temperature, larger than the energy of the low-frequency magnons, this force is much larger than the force caused by direct spin transfer between the spin current and the domain wall. We also demonstrate that the external spin current can induce the magnon spin Seebeck effect. The corresponding Seebeck coefficient is controlled by the current density. These spin-current assisted caloric effects open new ways for the manipulation of the magnetic states in antiferromagnets., Comment: SUbmitted to J.Phus. D as a part of special issue on Spin Caloritronics

We study spin-dependent electron transport through a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic-normal metal tunneling junction subject to a voltage or temperature bias, in the absence of spin-orbit coupling. We derive microscopic formulas for various types of spin torque acting on the antiferromagnet as well as for charge and spin currents flowing through the junction. The obtained results are applicable in the limit of slow magnetization dynamics. We identify a parameter regime in which an unconventional damping-like torque can become comparable in magnitude to the equivalent of the conventional Slonczewski's torque generalized to antiferromagnets. Moreover, we show that the antiferromagnetic sublattice structure opens up a channel of electron transport which does not have a ferromagnetic analogue and that this mechanism leads to a pronounced field-like torque. Both charge conductance and spin current transmission through the junction depend on the relative orientation of the ferromagnetic and the antiferromagnetic vectors (order parameters). The obtained formulas for charge and spin currents allow us to identify the microscopic mechanisms responsible for this angular dependence and to assess the efficiency of an antiferromagnetic metal acting as a spin current polarizer.

We investigate the spin Hall magnetoresistance in thin-film bilayer heterostructures of the heavy metal Pt and the antiferromagnetic insulator NiO. While rotating an external magnetic field in the easy plane of NiO, we record the longitudinal and the transverse resistivity of the Pt layer and observe an amplitude modulation consistent with the spin Hall magnetoresistance. In comparison to Pt on collinear ferrimagnets, the modulation is phase shifted by ${90}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ and its amplitude strongly increases with the magnitude of the magnetic field. We explain the observed magnetic field dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in a comprehensive model taking into account magnetic-field-induced modifications of the domain structure in antiferromagnets. With this generic model, we are further able to estimate the strength of the magnetoelastic coupling in antiferromagnets. Our detailed study shows that the spin Hall magnetoresistance is a versatile tool to investigate the magnetic spin structure as well as magnetoelastic effects, even in antiferromagnetic multidomain materials.

We theoretically examine a cross effect of magnetic field and charge current on antiferromagnetic domain wall dynamics. Since antiferromagnetic materials are largely insensitive to external magnetic fields in general, charge current has been shown recently as an alternative and efficient way to manipulate antiferromagnets. We find a new role of the magnetic field in the antiferromagnetic dynamics that appears when it is combined with charge current, demonstrating a domain wall motion in the presence of both field and current. We show that a spatially varying magnetic field can shift the current-driven domain-wall velocity, depending on the domain-wall structure and the direction of the field gradient. Our result suggests a novel concept of field control of current-driven antiferromagnetic dynamics.

Spintronics seeks to functionalize antiferromagnetic materials to develop memory and logic devices operating at terahertz speed and robust against external magnetic field perturbations. To be useful, such functionality needs to be developed in thin film devices. The key functionality of long-distance spin-transport has, however, so far only been reported in bulk single crystal antiferromagnets, while in thin films, transport has so far been limited to a few nanometers. In this work, we electrically achieve a long-distance propagation of spin-information in thin films of the insulating antiferromagnet hematite. Through transport and magnetic imaging, we demonstrate a strong correlation between the efficiency of the transport of magnons, which carry spin-information, and the magnetic domain structure of the films. In thin films with large domains, magnons propagate over micrometer distances whilst they attenuate over much shorter distances in multidomain thin films. The governing factor of the attenuation is related to scattering at domain walls, and we demonstrate that we can reduce this through training by field cyclings. For the appropriate crystalline orientation of the films, spin-transport is achieved in zero applied field across micrometers, as required for integration with devices.

High fraction of the surface atoms considerably enhances the influence of size and shape on the magnetic and electronic properties of nanoparticles. Shape effects in ferromagnetic nanoparticles are well understood and allow to set and control the parameters of a sample that affect its magnetic anisotropy during production. In the present paper we study the shape effects in the other widely used magnetic materials -- antiferromagnets, -- which possess vanishingly small or zero macroscopic magnetization. We take into account the difference between the surface and bulk magnetic anisotropy of a nanoparticle and show that the effective magnetic anisotropy depends on the particle shape and crystallographic orientation of its faces. Corresponding shape-induced contribution to the magnetic anisotropy energy is proportional to the particle volume, depends on magnetostriction, and can cause formation of equilibrium domain structure. Crystallographic orientation of the nanoparticle surface determines the type of domain structure. The proposed model allows to predict the magnetic properties of antiferromagnetic nanoparticles depending on their shape and treatment., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to Journal of Physics Condensed Matter

We report the observation of the three-dimensional angular dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a bilayer of the epitaxial antiferromagnetic insulator NiO(001) and the heavy metal Pt, without any ferromagnetic element. The detected angular-dependent longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistances are measured by rotating the sample in magnetic fields up to 11 T, along three orthogonal planes (xy-, yz- and xz-rotation planes, where the z-axis is orthogonal to the sample plane). The total magnetoresistance has contributions arising from both the SMR and ordinary magnetoresistance. The onset of the SMR signal occurs between 1 and 3 T and no saturation is visible up to 11 T. The three-dimensional angular dependence of the SMR can be explained by a model considering the reversible field-induced redistribution of magnetostrictive antiferromagnetic S- and T-domains in the NiO(001), stemming from the competition between the Zeeman energy and the elastic clamping effect of the non-magnetic MgO substrate. From the observed SMR ratio, we estimate the spin mixing conductance at the NiO/Pt interface to be greater than $2\times10^{14}$ ${\Omega}^{-1}$ $m^{-2}$. Our results demonstrate the possibility to electrically detect the N\'eel vector direction in stable NiO(001) thin films, for rotations in the xy- and xz- planes. Moreover, we show that a careful subtraction of the ordinary magnetoresistance contribution is crucial to correctly estimate the amplitude of the SMR.

We investigate the existence and stability of skyrmions in a frustrated chiral ferromagnet by considering the competition between ferromagnetic (FM) nearest-neighbour (NN) interaction ($J_1$) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) next-nearest-neighbour (NNN) interaction ($J_2$). Contrary to the general wisdom that long-range ferromagnetic order is not energy preferable under frustration, the skyrmion lattice not only exists but is even stable for a large field range when $J_2 \leq J_1$ compared with frustration-free systems. We defend that the enlargement of stability window of skyrmions is a consequence of the reduced effective exchange interaction caused by the frustration. A multi-sublattice helical state is found below the skyrmion phase, which results from the competition between AFM coupling that favors a two-sublattice N\'{e}el state and the chiral interaction that prefers a helix. As a byproduct, the hysteresis loop of the frustrated chiral system shrinks as the magnetization goes to zero and then opens up again, known as wasp-waist hysteresis loop. The critical field that separates the narrow and wide part of the wasp-waist loop depends exponentially on the strength of NNN coupling. By measuring the critical field, it is possible to determine the strength of NNN coupling., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures; references added

We study current-driven skyrmion motion in uniaxial thin film antiferromagnets in the presence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and in an external magnetic field. We phenomenologically include relaxation and current-induced torques due to both spin-orbit coupling and spatially inhomogeneous magnetic textures in the equation for the N\'eel vector of the antiferromagnet. Using the collective coordinate approach we apply the theory to a two-dimensional antiferromagnetic skyrmion and estimate the skyrmion velocity under an applied DC electric current., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

© 2015 American Physical Society. Using soft x-ray spectromicroscopy, we investigate the magnetic domain structure in embedded nanomagnets defined in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films and LaFeO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bilayers. We find that shape-controlled antiferromagnetic domain states give rise to a significant reduction of the switching field of the rectangular nanomagnets. This is discussed within the framework of competition between an intrinsic spin-flop coupling and shape anisotropy. The data demonstrates that shape effects in antiferromagnets may be used to control the magnetic properties in nanomagnets.

In this work we focus on magnetic relaxation in Mn80Ir20(12 nm)/Cu(6 nm)/Py(dF) antiferromagnet/Cu/ferromagnet (AFM/Cu/FM) multilayers with different thickness of the ferromagnetic permalloy layer. An effective FM-AFM interaction mediated via the conduction electrons in the nonmagnetic Cu spacer – the spin-pumping effect – is detected as an increase in the linewidth of the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra and a shift of the resonant magnetic field. We further find experimentally that the spin-pumping-induced contribution to the linewidth is inversely proportional to the thickness of the Py layer. We show that this thickness dependence likely originates from the dissipative dynamics of the free and localized spins in the AFM layer. The results obtained could be used for tailoring the dissipative properties of spintronic devices incorporating antiferromagnetic layers.

Antiferromagnetic spintronics is an emerging research field whose focus is on the electrical and optical control of the antiferromagnetic order parameter and its utility in information technology devices. An example of recently discovered new concepts is the N\'{e}el spin-orbit torque which allows for the antiferromagnetic order parameter to be controlled by an electrical current in common microelectronic circuits. In this review we discuss the utility of antiferromagnets as active and supporting materials for spintronics, the interplay of antiferromagnetic spintronics with other modern research fields in condensed matter physics, and its utility in future "More than Moore" information technologies., Comment: Overview of the topics presented at the Workshop of Antiferromagnetic Spintronics, 2016, Mainz, Germany

Colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) refers to a large change in electrical conductivity induced by a magnetic field in the vicinity of a metal-insulator transition and has inspired extensive studies for decades\cite{Ramirez1997, Tokura2006}. Here we demonstrate an analogous spin effect near the N\'eel temperature $T_{\rm{N}}$=296 K of the antiferromagnetic insulator \CrO. Using a yttrium iron garnet \YIG/\CrO/Pt trilayer, we injected a spin current from the YIG into the \CrO layer, and collected via the inverse spin Hall effect the signal transmitted in the heavy metal Pt. We observed a change by two orders of magnitude in the transmitted spin current within 14 K of the N\'eel temperature. This transition between spin conducting and nonconducting states could be also modulated by a magnetic field in isothermal conditions. This effect, that we term spin colossal magnetoresistance (SCMR), has the potential to simplify the design of fundamental spintronics components, for instance enabling the realization of spin current switches or spin-current based memories.

Antiferromagnetic materials can host spin-waves with polarizations ranging from circular to linear depending on their magnetic anisotropies. Until now, only easy-axis anisotropy antiferromagnets with circularly polarized spin-waves were reported to carry spin-information over long distances of micrometers. In this article, we report long-distance spin-transport in the easy-plane canted antiferromagnetic phase of hematite and at room temperature, where the linearly polarized magnons are not intuitively expected to carry spin. We demonstrate that the spin-transport signal decreases continuously through the easy-axis to easy-plane Morin transition, and persists in the easy-plane phase through current induced pairs of linearly polarized magnons with dephasing lengths in the micrometer range. We explain the long transport distance as a result of the low magnetic damping, which we measure to be ≤ 10−5 as in the best ferromagnets. All of this together demonstrates that long-distance transport can be achieved across a range of anisotropies and temperatures, up to room temperature, highlighting the promising potential of this insulating antiferromagnet for magnon-based devices., Hitherto, only circularly polarized antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin-waves (SWs) were expected to convey spin-information. Here, the authors present persistent spin-transport over long distances in the easy-plane AFM phase of hematite, α-Fe2O3, via linearly polarized SW pairs with ultra-low damping.

We report room temperature long-distance spin transport of magnons in antiferromagnetic thin film hematite doped with Zn. The additional dopants significantly alter the magnetic anisotropies, resulting in a complex equilibrium spin structure that is capable of efficiently transporting spin angular momentum at room temperature without the need for a well-defined, pure easy-axis or easy-plane anisotropy. We find intrinsic magnon spin-diffusion lengths of up to 1.5 {\mu}m, and magnetic domain governed decay lengths of 175 nm for the low frequency magnons, through electrical transport measurements demonstrating that the introduction of non-magnetic dopants does not strongly reduce the transport length scale showing that the magnetic damping of hematite is not significantly increased. We observe a complex field dependence of the non-local signal independent of the magnetic state visible in the local magnetoresistance and direct magnetic imaging of the antiferromagnetic domain structure. We explain our results in terms of a varying and applied-field-dependent ellipticity of the magnon modes reaching the detector electrode allowing us to tune the spin transport.

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is at the heart of many modern developments in the research field of spintronics. DMI is known to generate noncollinear magnetic textures, and can take two forms in antiferromagnets: homogeneous or inter-sublattice, leading to small, canted moments and inhomogeneous or intra-sublattice, leading to formation of chiral structures. In this work, we first determine the strength of the effective field created by the DMI, using SQUID based magnetometry and transport measurements, in thin films of the antiferromagnetic iron oxide hematite, $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$. We demonstrate that DMI additionally introduces reconfigurability in the long distance magnon transport in these films under different orientations of a magnetic field. This arises as a hysteresis centred around the easy-axis direction for an external field rotated in opposing directions whose width decreases with increasing magnetic field as the Zeeman energy competes with the effective field created by the DMI.