Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride

Hang Chi; Yunbo Ou; Tim B. Eldred; Wenpei Gao; Sohee Kwon; Joseph Murray; Michael Dreyer; Robert E. Butera; Alexandre C. Foucher; Haile Ambaye; Jong Keum; Alice T. Greenberg; Yuhang Liu; Mahesh R. Neupane; George J. de Coster; Owen A. Vail; Patrick J. Taylor; Patrick A. Folkes; Charles Rong; Gen Yin; Roger K. Lake; Frances M. Ross; Valeria Lauter; Don Heiman; Jagadeesh S. Moodera

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38995-4

Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride

Hang Chi, Yunbo Ou, Tim B. Eldred, Wenpei Gao, Sohee Kwon, Joseph Murray, Michael Dreyer, Robert E. Butera, Alexandre C. Foucher, Haile Ambaye, Jong Keum, Alice T. Greenberg, Yuhang Liu, Mahesh R. Neupane, George J. de Coster, Owen A. Vail, Patrick J. Taylor, Patrick A. Folkes, Charles Rong, Gen YinRoger K. Lake, Frances M. Ross, Valeria Lauter, Don Heiman, Jagadeesh S. Moodera

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Magnetic transition metal chalcogenides form an emerging platform for exploring spin-orbit driven Berry phase phenomena owing to the nontrivial interplay between topology and magnetism. Here we show that the anomalous Hall effect in pristine Cr₂Te₃ thin films manifests a unique temperature-dependent sign reversal at nonzero magnetization, resulting from the momentum-space Berry curvature as established by first-principles simulations. The sign change is strain tunable, enabled by the sharp and well-defined substrate/film interface in the quasi-two-dimensional Cr₂Te₃ epitaxial films, revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy and depth-sensitive polarized neutron reflectometry. This Berry phase effect further introduces hump-shaped Hall peaks in pristine Cr₂Te₃ near the coercive field during the magnetization switching process, owing to the presence of strain-modulated magnetic layers/domains. The versatile interface tunability of Berry curvature in Cr₂Te₃ thin films offers new opportunities for topological electronics.

Original language	English
Article number	3222
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	14
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38995-4
State	Published - Dec 2023

Funding

The work at MIT was supported by the Army Research Office (W911NF-20-2-0061 and DURIP W911NF-20-1-0074), National Science Foundation (NSF-DMR 1700137 and 2218550), and Office of Naval Research (N00014-20-1-2306). H.C. was sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-19-2-0015. Y.O. and J.S.M. thank the Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (NSF-DMR 1231319) for financial support. D.H. thanks support from NSF grant DMR-1905662 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research award FA9550-20-1-0247. T.B.E. is partially supported by NSF under Grant No. DGE 1633587. A.C.F. is supported by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. The electron microscopy was performed at the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at North Carolina State University, which is supported by the State of North Carolina and NSF (Award No. ECCS-2025064). The AIF is a member of the North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN), a site in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). This work was carried out with the use of facilities and instrumentation supported by NSF through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Materials Research Science and Engineering Center DMR—1419807. This work was carried out in part through the use of MIT.nano’s facilities. This research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, a Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. XRR measurements were conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. STM measurements utilized the facilities and resources of the Laboratory for Physical Sciences. The DFT work was supported in part by the ARL Research Associateship Program (RAP) Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-16-2-0008 and used STAMPEDE2 at TACC through allocation DMR130081 from the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program, which is supported by NSF grants #2138259, #2138286, #2138307, #2137603, and #2138296. The work at MIT was supported by the Army Research Office (W911NF-20-2-0061 and DURIP W911NF-20-1-0074), National Science Foundation (NSF-DMR 1700137 and 2218550), and Office of Naval Research (N00014-20-1-2306). H.C. was sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-19-2-0015. Y.O. and J.S.M. thank the Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (NSF-DMR 1231319) for financial support. D.H. thanks support from NSF grant DMR-1905662 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research award FA9550-20-1-0247. T.B.E. is partially supported by NSF under Grant No. DGE 1633587. A.C.F. is supported by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. The electron microscopy was performed at the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at North Carolina State University, which is supported by the State of North Carolina and NSF (Award No. ECCS-2025064). The AIF is a member of the North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN), a site in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). This work was carried out with the use of facilities and instrumentation supported by NSF through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Materials Research Science and Engineering Center DMR—1419807. This work was carried out in part through the use of MIT.nano’s facilities. This research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, a Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. XRR measurements were conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. STM measurements utilized the facilities and resources of the Laboratory for Physical Sciences. The DFT work was supported in part by the ARL Research Associateship Program (RAP) Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-16-2-0008 and used STAMPEDE2 at TACC through allocation DMR130081 from the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program, which is supported by NSF grants #2138259, #2138286, #2138307, #2137603, and #2138296.

Funders	Funder number
Center for Integrated Quantum Materials	1231319
Laboratory for Physical Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Materials Research Science and Engineering Center	2138286, W911NF-16-2-0008, 2138296, DMR—1419807, 2137603, 2138307, DMR130081, 2138259
National Science Foundation	DMR-1905662
National Science Foundation
Office of Naval Research	N00014-20-1-2306
Office of Naval Research
Division of Materials Research	1700137, 2218550
Division of Materials Research
Air Force Office of Scientific Research	DGE 1633587, FA9550-20-1-0247
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Army Research Office	W911NF-20-2-0061, DURIP W911NF-20-1-0074
Army Research Office
Office of Science
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Army Research Laboratory	W911NF-19-2-0015
Army Research Laboratory
North Carolina State University	ECCS-2025064
North Carolina State University

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Chi, H., Ou, Y., Eldred, T. B., Gao, W., Kwon, S., Murray, J., Dreyer, M., Butera, R. E., Foucher, A. C., Ambaye, H., Keum, J., Greenberg, A. T., Liu, Y., Neupane, M. R., de Coster, G. J., Vail, O. A., Taylor, P. J., Folkes, P. A., Rong, C., ... Moodera, J. S. (2023). Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride. Nature Communications, 14(1), Article 3222. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38995-4

@article{dd4e8b66325e43808afdbc971b99e0bd,

title = "Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride",

abstract = "Magnetic transition metal chalcogenides form an emerging platform for exploring spin-orbit driven Berry phase phenomena owing to the nontrivial interplay between topology and magnetism. Here we show that the anomalous Hall effect in pristine Cr2Te3 thin films manifests a unique temperature-dependent sign reversal at nonzero magnetization, resulting from the momentum-space Berry curvature as established by first-principles simulations. The sign change is strain tunable, enabled by the sharp and well-defined substrate/film interface in the quasi-two-dimensional Cr2Te3 epitaxial films, revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy and depth-sensitive polarized neutron reflectometry. This Berry phase effect further introduces hump-shaped Hall peaks in pristine Cr2Te3 near the coercive field during the magnetization switching process, owing to the presence of strain-modulated magnetic layers/domains. The versatile interface tunability of Berry curvature in Cr2Te3 thin films offers new opportunities for topological electronics.",

author = "Hang Chi and Yunbo Ou and Eldred, {Tim B.} and Wenpei Gao and Sohee Kwon and Joseph Murray and Michael Dreyer and Butera, {Robert E.} and Foucher, {Alexandre C.} and Haile Ambaye and Jong Keum and Greenberg, {Alice T.} and Yuhang Liu and Neupane, {Mahesh R.} and {de Coster}, {George J.} and Vail, {Owen A.} and Taylor, {Patrick J.} and Folkes, {Patrick A.} and Charles Rong and Gen Yin and Lake, {Roger K.} and Ross, {Frances M.} and Valeria Lauter and Don Heiman and Moodera, {Jagadeesh S.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41467-023-38995-4",

language = "English",

volume = "14",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Nature Research",

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Chi, H, Ou, Y, Eldred, TB, Gao, W, Kwon, S, Murray, J, Dreyer, M, Butera, RE, Foucher, AC , Ambaye, H , Keum, J, Greenberg, AT, Liu, Y, Neupane, MR, de Coster, GJ, Vail, OA, Taylor, PJ, Folkes, PA, Rong, C, Yin, G, Lake, RK, Ross, FM, Lauter, V, Heiman, D & Moodera, JS 2023, 'Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride', Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, 3222. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38995-4

TY - JOUR

T1 - Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride

AU - Chi, Hang

AU - Ou, Yunbo

AU - Eldred, Tim B.

AU - Gao, Wenpei

AU - Kwon, Sohee

AU - Murray, Joseph

AU - Dreyer, Michael

AU - Butera, Robert E.

AU - Foucher, Alexandre C.

AU - Ambaye, Haile

AU - Keum, Jong

AU - Greenberg, Alice T.

AU - Liu, Yuhang

AU - Neupane, Mahesh R.

AU - de Coster, George J.

AU - Vail, Owen A.

AU - Taylor, Patrick J.

AU - Folkes, Patrick A.

AU - Rong, Charles

AU - Yin, Gen

AU - Lake, Roger K.

AU - Ross, Frances M.

AU - Lauter, Valeria

AU - Heiman, Don

AU - Moodera, Jagadeesh S.

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - Magnetic transition metal chalcogenides form an emerging platform for exploring spin-orbit driven Berry phase phenomena owing to the nontrivial interplay between topology and magnetism. Here we show that the anomalous Hall effect in pristine Cr2Te3 thin films manifests a unique temperature-dependent sign reversal at nonzero magnetization, resulting from the momentum-space Berry curvature as established by first-principles simulations. The sign change is strain tunable, enabled by the sharp and well-defined substrate/film interface in the quasi-two-dimensional Cr2Te3 epitaxial films, revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy and depth-sensitive polarized neutron reflectometry. This Berry phase effect further introduces hump-shaped Hall peaks in pristine Cr2Te3 near the coercive field during the magnetization switching process, owing to the presence of strain-modulated magnetic layers/domains. The versatile interface tunability of Berry curvature in Cr2Te3 thin films offers new opportunities for topological electronics.

AB - Magnetic transition metal chalcogenides form an emerging platform for exploring spin-orbit driven Berry phase phenomena owing to the nontrivial interplay between topology and magnetism. Here we show that the anomalous Hall effect in pristine Cr2Te3 thin films manifests a unique temperature-dependent sign reversal at nonzero magnetization, resulting from the momentum-space Berry curvature as established by first-principles simulations. The sign change is strain tunable, enabled by the sharp and well-defined substrate/film interface in the quasi-two-dimensional Cr2Te3 epitaxial films, revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy and depth-sensitive polarized neutron reflectometry. This Berry phase effect further introduces hump-shaped Hall peaks in pristine Cr2Te3 near the coercive field during the magnetization switching process, owing to the presence of strain-modulated magnetic layers/domains. The versatile interface tunability of Berry curvature in Cr2Te3 thin films offers new opportunities for topological electronics.

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SN - 2041-1723

VL - 14

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 3222

ER -

Strain-tunable Berry curvature in quasi-two-dimensional chromium telluride

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