M-STAR: Magnetism second target advanced reflectometer at the Spallation Neutron Source.

M-STAR is a next generation polarized neutron reflectometer with advanced capabilities. A new focusing guide concept is optimized for samples with dimensions down to a millimeter range. A proposed hybrid pulse-skipping chopper will enable experiments at constant geometry at one incident angle in a broad range of wavevector transfer Q up to 0.3 A-1 for specular, off-specular, and GISANS measurements. M-STAR will empower nanoscience and spintronics studies routinely on small samples (∼2 × 2 mm2) and of atomic-scale thickness using versatile experimental conditions of magnetic and/or electric fields, light, and temperature applied in situ to novel complex device-like nanosystems with multiple buried interfaces. M-STAR will enable improved grazing incidence diffraction measurements, as a surface-sensitive depth-resolved probe of, e.g., the out-of-plane component of atomic magnetic moments in ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and more complex structures as well as in-plane atomic-scale structures inaccessible with contemporary diffractometry and reflectometry. New horizons will be opened by the development of an option to probe near-surface dynamics with inelastic grazing incidence scattering in the time-of-flight mode. These novel options in combination with ideally matched parameters of the second target station will place M-STAR in the world's leading position for high resolution polarized reflectometry.

Observation of Coexisting Weak Localization and Superconducting Fluctuations in Strained Sn1-xInxTe Thin Films.

Topological superconductors have attracted tremendous excitement as they are predicted to host Majorana zero modes that can be utilized for topological quantum computing. Candidate topological superconductor Sn1-xInxTe thin films (0 < x < 0.3) grown by molecular beam epitaxy and strained in the (111) plane are shown to host quantum interference effects in the conductivity coexisting with superconducting fluctuations above the critical temperature Tc. An analysis of the normal state magnetoresistance reveals these effects. A crossover from weak antilocalization to localization is consistently observed in superconducting samples, indicating that superconductivity originates dominantly from charge carriers occupying trivial states that may be strongly spin-orbit split. A large enhancement of the conductivity is observed above Tc, indicating the presence of superconducting fluctuations. Our results motivate a re-examination of the debated pairing symmetry of this material when subjected to quantum confinement and lattice strain.

Interplay of orbital effects and nanoscale strain in topological crystalline insulators.

Orbital degrees of freedom can have pronounced effects on the fundamental properties of electrons in solids. In addition to influencing bandwidths, gaps, correlation strength and dispersion, orbital effects have been implicated in generating novel electronic and structural phases. Here we show how the orbital nature of bands can result in non-trivial effects of strain on band structure. We use scanning-tunneling microscopy to study the effects of strain on the electronic structure of a heteroepitaxial thin film of a topological crystalline insulator, SnTe. By studying the effects of uniaxial strain on the band structure we find a surprising effect where strain applied in one direction has the most pronounced influence on the band structure along the perpendicular direction. Our theoretical calculations indicate that this effect arises from the orbital nature of the conduction and valence bands. Our results imply that a microscopic model capturing strain effects must include a consideration of the orbital nature of bands.

A high-temperature ferromagnetic topological insulating phase by proximity coupling.

Topological insulators are insulating materials that display conducting surface states protected by time-reversal symmetry, wherein electron spins are locked to their momentum. This unique property opens up new opportunities for creating next-generation electronic, spintronic and quantum computation devices. Introducing ferromagnetic order into a topological insulator system without compromising its distinctive quantum coherent features could lead to the realization of several predicted physical phenomena. In particular, achieving robust long-range magnetic order at the surface of the topological insulator at specific locations without introducing spin-scattering centres could open up new possibilities for devices. Here we use spin-polarized neutron reflectivity experiments to demonstrate topologically enhanced interface magnetism by coupling a ferromagnetic insulator (EuS) to a topological insulator (Bi2Se3) in a bilayer system. This interfacial ferromagnetism persists up to room temperature, even though the ferromagnetic insulator is known to order ferromagnetically only at low temperatures (<17 K). The magnetism induced at the interface resulting from the large spin-orbit interaction and the spin-momentum locking of the topological insulator surface greatly enhances the magnetic ordering (Curie) temperature of this bilayer system. The ferromagnetism extends ~2 nm into the Bi2Se3 from the interface. Owing to the short-range nature of the ferromagnetic exchange interaction, the time-reversal symmetry is broken only near the surface of a topological insulator, while leaving its bulk states unaffected. The topological magneto-electric response originating in such an engineered topological insulator could allow efficient manipulation of the magnetization dynamics by an electric field, providing an energy-efficient topological control mechanism for future spin-based technologies.

Strain engineering Dirac surface states in heteroepitaxial topological crystalline insulator thin films.

The unique crystalline protection of the surface states in topological crystalline insulators has led to a series of predictions of strain-generated phenomena, from the appearance of pseudo-magnetic fields and helical flat bands to the tunability of Dirac surface states by strain that may be used to construct 'straintronic' nanoswitches. However, the practical realization of this exotic phenomenology via strain engineering is experimentally challenging and is yet to be achieved. Here, we have designed an experiment to not only generate and measure strain locally, but also to directly measure the resulting effects on Dirac surface states. We grew heteroepitaxial thin films of topological crystalline insulator SnTe in situ and measured them using high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy to determine picoscale changes in the atomic positions, which reveal regions of both tensile and compressive strain. Simultaneous Fourier-transform scanning tunnelling spectroscopy was then used to determine the effects of strain on the Dirac electrons. We find that strain continuously tunes the momentum space position of the Dirac points, consistent with theoretical predictions. Our work demonstrates the fundamental mechanism necessary for using topological crystalline insulators in strain-based applications.

High-precision realization of robust quantum anomalous Hall state in a hard ferromagnetic topological insulator.

The discovery of the quantum Hall (QH) effect led to the realization of a topological electronic state with dissipationless currents circulating in one direction along the edge of a two-dimensional electron layer under a strong magnetic field. The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect shares a similar physical phenomenon to that of the QH effect, whereas its physical origin relies on the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling and ferromagnetism. Here, we report the experimental observation of the QAH state in V-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 films with the zero-field longitudinal resistance down to 0.00013 ± 0.00007h/e(2) (~3.35 ± 1.76 Ω), Hall conductance reaching 0.9998 ± 0.0006e(2)/h and the Hall angle becoming as high as 89.993° ± 0.004° at T = 25 mK. A further advantage of this system comes from the fact that it is a hard ferromagnet with a large coercive field (Hc > 1.0 T) and a relative high Curie temperature. This realization of a robust QAH state in hard ferromagnetic topological insulators (FMTIs) is a major step towards dissipationless electronic applications in the absence of external fields.

Spin regulation in composite spin-filter barrier devices.

Magnetic insulators are known to provide large effective Zeeman fields that are confined at an interface, making them especially powerful in modifying adjacent one- or two-dimensional electronic structures. Utilizing this phenomenon and the other important property of magnetic insulators--spin filtering--here we report the generation and subsequent detection of a large interface field, as large as tens of tesla in EuS/Al/EuS heterostructures with metallic coulomb islands confined within a magnetic insulator barrier. The unique energy profile across this sandwich structure produces spin-assisted charge transfer across the device, generating a spontaneous spin current and voltage. These unique properties can be practical for controlling spin flows in electronic devices and for energy harvesting.

Quantification of strain and charge co-mediated magnetoelectric coupling on ultra-thin Permalloy/PMN-PT interface.

Strain and charge co-mediated magnetoelectric coupling are expected in ultra-thin ferromagnetic/ferroelectric multiferroic heterostructures, which could lead to significantly enhanced magnetoelectric coupling. It is however challenging to observe the combined strain charge mediated magnetoelectric coupling, and difficult in quantitatively distinguish these two magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms. We demonstrated in this work, the quantification of the coexistence of strain and surface charge mediated magnetoelectric coupling on ultra-thin Ni0.79Fe0.21/PMN-PT interface by using a Ni0.79Fe0.21/Cu/PMN-PT heterostructure with only strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling as a control. The NiFe/PMN-PT heterostructure exhibited a high voltage induced effective magnetic field change of 375 Oe enhanced by the surface charge at the PMN-PT interface. Without the enhancement of the charge-mediated magnetoelectric effect by inserting a Cu layer at the PMN-PT interface, the electric field modification of effective magnetic field was 202 Oe. By distinguishing the magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms, a pure surface charge modification of magnetism shows a strong correlation to polarization of PMN-PT. A non-volatile effective magnetic field change of 104 Oe was observed at zero electric field originates from the different remnant polarization state of PMN-PT. The strain and charge co-mediated magnetoelectric coupling in ultra-thin magnetic/ferroelectric heterostructures could lead to power efficient and non-volatile magnetoelectric devices with enhanced magnetoelectric coupling.

Exchange-coupling-induced symmetry breaking in topological insulators.

An exchange gap in the Dirac surface states of a topological insulator (TI) is necessary for observing the predicted unique features such as the topological magnetoelectric effect as well as to confine Majorana fermions. We experimentally demonstrate proximity-induced ferromagnetism in a TI, combining a ferromagnetic insulator EuS layer with Bi(2)Se(3), without introducing defects. By magnetic and magnetotransport studies, including anomalous Hall effect and magnetoresistance measurements, we show the emergence of a ferromagnetic phase in TI, a step forward in unveiling their exotic properties.

Superconducting spin switch with infinite magnetoresistance induced by an internal exchange field.

A theoretical prediction by de Gennes suggests that the resistance in a FI/S/FI (where FI is a ferromagnetic insulator, and S is a superconductor) structure will depend on the magnetization direction of the two FI layers. We report a magnetotransport measurement in a EuS/Al/EuS structure, showing that an infinite magnetoresistance can be produced by tuning the internal exchange field at the FI/S interface. This proximity effect at the interface can be suppressed by an Al(2)O(3) barrier as thin as 0.3 nm, showing the extreme confinement of the interaction to the interface giving rise to the demonstrated phenomena.