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Ab initio study of magnetoresistance effect in Mn3Sn/MgO/Mn3Sn antiferromagnetic tunnel junction

Katsuhiro Tanaka1,*, Yuta Toga2, Susumu Minami1,3, Satoru Nakatsuji1,4,5,6, Takuya Nomoto7, Takashi Koretsune8, and Ryotaro Arita1,4,9

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
  • 2JSR-UTokyo Collaboration Hub CURIE, JSR Corporation, Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8640, Japan
  • 3Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8540, Japan
  • 4Trans-Scale Quantum Science Institute, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
  • 5Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan
  • 6Institute for Quantum Matter, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
  • 7Department of Physics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
  • 8Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
  • 9Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan

  • *Contact author: k-tanaka@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 044405 – Published 16 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xt7z-sf3x

Abstract

The antiferromagnets with the time-reversal symmetry broken magnetic structures possess a finite spin splitting in the momentum space, and may contribute to a realization of a finite tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) effect even with magnets with zero net spin polarization. In this paper, we study the TMR effect with the noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn whose inverse 120∘ antiferromagnetic order breaks the time-reversal symmetry. In particular, we employ the representative barrier material MgO as the tunnel insulator, and calculate the TMR effect in the Mn3Sn(011¯0)/MgO(110)/Mn3Sn magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), which has an optimal geometry for the spin-orbit torque switching of the magnetic configurations. We show that a finite TMR ratio reaching ≳1000% appears in the Mn3Sn/MgO/Mn3Sn MTJs, which is due to the spin splitting properties of Mn3Sn in the momentum space combined with the screening effect of MgO.

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