Abstract
The emergence of magnetism in quantum materials creates a platform to realize spin-based applications in spintronics, magnetic memory, and quantum information science. A key to unlocking new functionalities in these materials is the discovery of tunable coupling between spins and other microscopic degrees of freedom. We present evidence for interlayer magnetophononic coupling in the layered magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4. Employing magneto-Raman spectroscopy, we observe anomalies in phonon scattering intensities across magnetic field-driven phase transitions, despite the absence of discernible static structural changes. This behavior is a consequence of a magnetophononic wave-mixing process that allows for the excitation of zone-boundary phonons that are otherwise ‘forbidden’ by momentum conservation. Our microscopic model based on density functional theory calculations reveals that this phenomenon can be attributed to phonons modulating the interlayer exchange coupling. Moreover, signatures of magnetophononic coupling are also observed in the time domain through the ultrafast excitation and detection of coherent phonons across magnetic transitions. In light of the intimate connection between magnetism and topology in MnBi2Te4, the magnetophononic coupling represents an important step towards coherent on-demand manipulation of magnetic topological phases.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1929 |
| Journal | Nature communications |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2022 |
Funding
H.P., V.A.S., H.W., P.K., M.P., N.Z.K., A.M.L., R.A., J.M.R., and V.G. acknowledge support from the DOE-BES grant DE-SC0012375. H.P. acknowledges partial support from the DOE Computational Materials program, DE-SC0020145. Support for crystal growth and characterization was provided by the National Science Foundation through the Penn State 2D Crystal Consortium-Materials Innovation Platform (2DCC-MIP) under NSF cooperative agreement DMR-1539916?and DMR-2039351. D.P. was supported by the Army Research Office (ARO) under grant no. W911NF-15-1-0017. SLAC MeV-UED is supported in part by the DOE-BES SUF Division Accelerator & Detector R&D program, the LCLS Facility, and SLAC under Contract Nos. DE-AC02?05-CH11231 and DE-AC02?76SF00515. Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.?Zero-field Raman measurements were performed in the Materials Characterization Laboratory within the Materials Research Institute at Penn State. H.P., V.A.S., H.W., P.K., M.P., N.Z.K., A.M.L., R.A., J.M.R., and V.G. acknowledge support from the DOE-BES grant DE-SC0012375. H.P. acknowledges partial support from the DOE Computational Materials program, DE-SC0020145. Support for crystal growth and characterization was provided by the National Science Foundation through the Penn State 2D Crystal Consortium-Materials Innovation Platform (2DCC-MIP) under NSF cooperative agreement DMR-1539916 and DMR-2039351. D.P. was supported by the Army Research Office (ARO) under grant no. W911NF-15-1-0017. SLAC MeV-UED is supported in part by the DOE-BES SUF Division Accelerator & Detector R&D program, the LCLS Facility, and SLAC under Contract Nos. DE-AC02\u201305-CH11231 and DE-AC02\u201376SF00515. Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Zero-field Raman measurements were performed in the Materials Characterization Laboratory within the Materials Research Institute at Penn State.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy