Back to Search
Start Over
Real-space imaging of non-collinear antiferromagnetic order with a single spin magnetometer
- Source :
- Nature 549, 252-256 (2017)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- While ferromagnets are at the heart of daily life applications, their large magnetization and resulting energy cost for switching bring into question their suitability for reliable low-power spintronic devices. Non-collinear antiferromagnetic systems do not suffer from this problem and often possess remarkable extra functionalities: non-collinear spin order may break space-inversion symmetry and thus allow electric-field control of magnetism, or produce emergent spin-orbit effects, which enable efficient spin-charge interconversion. To harness these unique traits for next-generation spintronics, the nanoscale control and imaging capabilities that are now routine for ferromagnets must be developed for antiferromagnetic systems. Here, using a non-invasive scanning nanomagnetometer based on a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond, we demonstrate the first real-space visualization of non-collinear antiferromagnetic order in a magnetic thin film, at room temperature. We image the spin cycloid of a multiferroic BiFeO$_3$ thin film and extract a period of $\sim70$ nm, consistent with values determined by macroscopic diffraction. In addition, we take advantage of the magnetoelectric coupling present in BiFeO$_3$ to manipulate the cycloid propagation direction by an electric field. Besides highlighting the unique potential of NV magnetometry for imaging complex antiferromagnetic orders at the nanoscale, these results demonstrate how BiFeO$_3$ can be used as a versatile platform for the design of reconfigurable nanoscale spin textures.
- Subjects :
- Condensed Matter - Materials Science
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Journal :
- Nature 549, 252-256 (2017)
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.2011.12399
- Document Type :
- Working Paper
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23656