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Defect-driven antiferromagnetic domain walls in CuMnAs films

Reimers, Sonka ; Kriegner, Dominik ; Gomonay, Olena ; Carbone, Dina LU ; Krizek, Filip ; Novák, Vit ; Campion, Richard P. ; Maccherozzi, Francesco ; Björling, Alexander LU and Amin, Oliver J. , et al. (2022) In Nature Communications 13(1).
Abstract

Efficient manipulation of antiferromagnetic (AF) domains and domain walls has opened up new avenues of research towards ultrafast, high-density spintronic devices. AF domain structures are known to be sensitive to magnetoelastic effects, but the microscopic interplay of crystalline defects, strain and magnetic ordering remains largely unknown. Here, we reveal, using photoemission electron microscopy combined with scanning X-ray diffraction imaging and micromagnetic simulations, that the AF domain structure in CuMnAs thin films is dominated by nanoscale structural twin defects. We demonstrate that microtwin defects, which develop across the entire thickness of the film and terminate on the surface as characteristic lines, determine the... (More)

Efficient manipulation of antiferromagnetic (AF) domains and domain walls has opened up new avenues of research towards ultrafast, high-density spintronic devices. AF domain structures are known to be sensitive to magnetoelastic effects, but the microscopic interplay of crystalline defects, strain and magnetic ordering remains largely unknown. Here, we reveal, using photoemission electron microscopy combined with scanning X-ray diffraction imaging and micromagnetic simulations, that the AF domain structure in CuMnAs thin films is dominated by nanoscale structural twin defects. We demonstrate that microtwin defects, which develop across the entire thickness of the film and terminate on the surface as characteristic lines, determine the location and orientation of 180∘ and 90∘ domain walls. The results emphasize the crucial role of nanoscale crystalline defects in determining the AF domains and domain walls, and provide a route to optimizing device performance.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature Communications
volume
13
issue
1
article number
724
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:35132068
  • scopus:85124310806
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-022-28311-x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
id
d438a245-a421-459b-b5c3-4ba17a835eba
date added to LUP
2022-08-16 10:26:15
date last changed
2025-05-03 00:40:38
@article{d438a245-a421-459b-b5c3-4ba17a835eba,
  abstract     = {{<p>Efficient manipulation of antiferromagnetic (AF) domains and domain walls has opened up new avenues of research towards ultrafast, high-density spintronic devices. AF domain structures are known to be sensitive to magnetoelastic effects, but the microscopic interplay of crystalline defects, strain and magnetic ordering remains largely unknown. Here, we reveal, using photoemission electron microscopy combined with scanning X-ray diffraction imaging and micromagnetic simulations, that the AF domain structure in CuMnAs thin films is dominated by nanoscale structural twin defects. We demonstrate that microtwin defects, which develop across the entire thickness of the film and terminate on the surface as characteristic lines, determine the location and orientation of 180<sup>∘</sup> and 90<sup>∘</sup> domain walls. The results emphasize the crucial role of nanoscale crystalline defects in determining the AF domains and domain walls, and provide a route to optimizing device performance.</p>}},
  author       = {{Reimers, Sonka and Kriegner, Dominik and Gomonay, Olena and Carbone, Dina and Krizek, Filip and Novák, Vit and Campion, Richard P. and Maccherozzi, Francesco and Björling, Alexander and Amin, Oliver J. and Barton, Luke X. and Poole, Stuart F. and Omari, Khalid A. and Michalička, Jan and Man, Ondřej and Sinova, Jairo and Jungwirth, Tomáš and Wadley, Peter and Dhesi, Sarnjeet S. and Edmonds, Kevin W.}},
  issn         = {{2041-1723}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Communications}},
  title        = {{Defect-driven antiferromagnetic domain walls in CuMnAs films}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28311-x}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41467-022-28311-x}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}