Developing a technology to electrically manipulate a Weyl semimetal state is a vital step for designing a nonvolatile memory using topologically robust properties. Recently, such manipulation is realized for the first time in the antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn₃Sn using the readout signal of anomalous Hall effect in the Mn₃Sn/heavy metal (Pt, W) heterostructures. Here, it is reported that the switching of Hall signal can be significantly enhanced by 1) removing the buffer layer of Ru to adjust the crystal orientation of Mn₃Sn, and 2) annealing after deposition of the heavy metal to change the interfacial condition. The switching of the Hall resistance is 0.35 Ω in the Mn₃Sn/W sample, which becomes one order of magnitude larger than the previously reported value using Ru/Mn₃Sn/Pt heterostructures. Moreover, by increasing the read current, it is found that the readout voltage may go well beyond 1 mV, a milestone for future applications in memory technology.

See below for more information.

• Aritcle URL : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smsc.202000025
• Nakatsuji-Sakai Lab. : https://www.nakatsuji-lab.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/?lang=en