ABSTRACT
The kagome-bilayer material Fe(3)Sn(2) has recently been shown to be an example of a rare class of magnet-a frustrated ferromagnetic metal. While the magnetism of Fe(3)Sn(2) appears to be relatively simple at high temperature, with localized moments parallel to the c-axis (T(C) = 640 K), upon cooling the competing exchange interactions and spin frustration become apparent as they cause the moments to become non-collinear and to rotate towards the kagome plane, forming firstly a canted ferromagnetic structure and then a re-entrant spin glass (T(f) approximately equal 80 K). In this work we show that Fe(3)Sn(2) possesses an unusual anomalous Hall effect. The saturated Hall resistivity of Fe(3)Sn(2) is 3.2 µΩ cm at 300 K, almost 20 times higher than that of typical itinerant ferromagnets such as Fe and Ni. The anomalous Hall coefficient R(s) is 6.7 × 10(-9) Ω cm G(-1) at 300 K, which is three orders of magnitude larger than that of pure Fe, and obeys an unconventional scaling with the longitudinal resistivity, ρ(xx), of R(s) is proportional to ρ(xx)(3.15). Such a relationship cannot be explained by either the conventional skew or side-jump mechanisms, indicating that the anomalous Hall effect in Fe(3)Sn(2) has an extraordinary origin that is presumed to be related to the underlying frustration of the magnetism. These findings demonstrate that frustrated ferromagnets, whether based on bulk materials or on artificial nanoscale structures, can provide new routes to room temperature spin-dependent electron transport properties suited to application in spintronics.
ABSTRACT
Frustrated itinerant ferromagnets, with non-collinear static spin structures, are an exciting class of material as their spin chirality can introduce a Berry phase in the electronic scattering and lead to exotic electronic phenomena such as the anomalous Hall effect (AHE). This study presents a reexamination of the magnetic properties of Fe(3)Sn(2), a metallic ferromagnet, based on the two-dimensional kagome bilayer structure. Previously thought of as a conventional ferromagnet, we show using a combination of SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) measurements, symmetry analysis and powder neutron diffraction that Fe(3)Sn(2) is a frustrated ferromagnet with a temperature-dependent non-collinear spin structure. The complexity of the magnetic interactions is further evidenced by a re-entrant spin glass transition ([Formula: see text] K) at temperatures far below the main ferromagnetic transition (T(C) = 640 K). Fe(3)Sn(2) therefore provides a rare example of a frustrated itinerant ferromagnet. Further, as well as being of great fundamental interest our studies highlight the potential of Fe(3)Sn(2) for practical application in spintronics technology, as the AHE arising from the ferromagnetism in this material is expected to be enhanced by the coupling between the conduction electrons and the non-trivial magnetic structure over an exceptionally wide temperature range.
