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Bulk and surface uniformity of magnetic and electronic structures in epitaxial W/Mn3Sn/MgO films revealed by fluorescence- and electron-yield x-ray magnetic circular dichroism

Shoya Sakamoto1,*, Tomoya Higo1,2,3, Yoshinori Kotani4, Hidetoshi Kosaki1, Tetsuya Nakamura4,5, Satoru Nakatsuji2,1,6,7,3, and Shinji Miwa1,6,3,†

  • *Contact author: shoya.sakamoto@issp.u-tokyo.ac.jp
  • †Contact author: miwa@issp.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Phys. Rev. B 110, L060412 – Published 29 August, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.L060412

Abstract

The chiral kagome antiferromagnet Mn3Sn has drawn extensive attention for its robust ferromagneticlike responses despite minimal magnetization, and the fabrication of epitaxial W/Mn3Sn bilayer has unveiled unique spintronics functionalities. However, it remains unclear whether the chiral antiferromagnetic order extends throughout the Mn3Sn layer in these multilayers. Here, we perform x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements on a Mn3Sn [11¯00] epitaxial thin film grown on a W underlayer and capped with an MgO overlayer, utilizing both the bulk-sensitive fluorescence-yield mode and the surface-sensitive electron-yield mode. Our analysis reveals that the x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectra obtained from each mode exhibit remarkable congruence, suggesting uniform electronic structures across the entire film thickness and the absence of ferromagnetic inclusions. Furthermore, the XMCD hysteresis loop obtained with the fluorescence-yield mode exhibits a more squarelike profile compared to those obtained with the electron-yield mode and magneto-optical Kerr effect. This indicates minimal domain pinning centers in the bulk region or near the bottom W/Mn3Sn interface. These findings underscore the intrinsic nature of spin-torque-related phenomena observed in previous studies, affirming their association with the chiral antiferromagnetic spin structure of Mn3Sn.

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