Discovery and characterization of a new type of domain wall in a row-wise antiferromagnet
| Autor: | André Kubetzka, Martin Grünebohm, Roland Wiesendanger, Jonas Spethmann, Kirsten von Bergmann |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Předmět: |
Science
General Physics and Astronomy 02 engineering and technology Imaging techniques Spin structure 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Article law.invention Domain (software engineering) Quantitative Biology::Subcellular Processes Domain wall (string theory) Superposition principle Surfaces interfaces and thin films law Magnetic properties and materials 0103 physical sciences 010306 general physics Spin-½ Physics Multidisciplinary Condensed matter physics Spintronics General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Characterization (materials science) Condensed Matter::Strongly Correlated Electrons Scanning tunneling microscope 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications Nature Communications, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-021-23760-2 |
| Popis: | Antiferromagnets have recently moved into the focus of application-related research, with the perspective to use them in future spintronics devices. At the same time the experimental determination of the detailed spin texture remains challenging. Here we use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate the spin structure of antiferromagnetic domain walls. Comparison with spin dynamics simulations allows the identification of a new type of domain wall, which is a superposition state of the adjacent domains. We determine the relevant magnetic interactions and derive analytical formulas. Our experiments show a pathway to control the number of domain walls by boundary effects, and demonstrate the possibility to change the position of domain walls by interaction with movable adsorbed atoms. The knowledge about the exact spin structure of the domain walls is crucial for an understanding and theoretical modelling of their properties regarding, for instance, dynamics, response in transport experiments, and manipulation. Antiferromagnets (AFM) exhibit faster magnetization dynamics, and have immunity to stray fields, making AFMs attractive for spintronic devices. Here, the authors investigate the behaviour of domain walls in AFMs, and find a new type domain wall, a superposition of two adjacent rotational domains. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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