Spin-orbit control of antiferromagnetic domains without a Zeeman coupling
Résumé
Abstract Encoding information in antiferromagnetic (AFM) domains is a promising solution for the ever growing demand in magnetic storage capacity. What fundamentally enables ultrahigh density AFM-based spintronics is the absence of unintentional crosstalk between different domain states due to vanishing stray fields [1]. However, the absence of macroscopic magnetization is detrimental to the manipulation and detection of AFM domains. Disentangling the merits and disadvantages of small stray fields seemed so far unattainable. In this work, we report evidence for a new AFM domain selection mechanism based on the anisotropy in the susceptibility not induced by Zeeman energy terms, but by the relative orientation of the external magnetic field to the two perpendicularly oriented k-domains only. As a result, the charge transport response is controlled by the rotation of the magnetic field. In particular, a pronounced new anisotropic magnetoresistance effect is found in the AFM phase of bulk materials Nd(1-x)Ce(x) CoIn(5), due to differences in transport scattering rates for currents applied parallel and perpendicular to the spin-density wave modulation. Our results and the domain switching theory [2] indicate that this constitutes a new universal effect across multiband materials and thus provide a novel mechanism to control and detect AFM domains opening new perspectives for AFM sprintronics.