Probing ultraweak in- plane magnetic anisotropy within a two- dimensional layered antiferromagnet

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fan, Yijie; Xu, Yihong; Bian, Renji; Zhang, Ruan; Mei, Junning; Wu, Jiaxin; Xie, Binghe; Zhu, Shuangxing; Chen, Yu; Gu, Feifan; Liu, Ying; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Liu, Fucai; Cai, Xinghan
• 署名单位: Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Shanghai Jiao Tong University; University of Electronic Science & Technology of China; National Institute for Materials Science; University of Electronic Science & Technology of China; University of Electronic Science & Technology of China
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10134
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2414668122
• 发表日期: 2025-04-15
• 关键词: ferromagnetism; crcl3

摘要

Magnetic anisotropy plays a crucial role in determining the critical behavior and phase transitions in two- dimensional magnetic systems. It is also required for the design of thin- film spintronic devices. Despite its significance, sensing extremely weak anisotropy has proven challenging in van der Waals antiferromagnetic/ferrimagnetic materials. Here, we first employ simulations of micromagnetic energy function in few- layer easy- plane antiferromagnetic systems with a weak additional uniaxial anisotropy and unveil an intriguing even-odd effect closely linked to low- field spin-flop behaviors. We further perform tunneling magneto- conductance measurements on a model 2D antiferromagnetic tunneling current at low temperature aligns well with simulated in- plane anisotropic spin- configuration, providing direct experimental evidence for detecting magnetic anisotropy field around 1 mT. Our work creates opportunities for finely characterizing magnetic structures and behaviors in 2D antiferromagnetic/ferrimagnetic systems, with potential applications in spintronics such as data storage and magnetic sensing.