Intergranular Spin Dependent Tunneling Dominated Magnetoresistance in Helimagnetic Manganese Phosphide Thin Films.

Helical magnets are emerging as a novel class of materials for spintronics and sensor applications; however, research on their charge- and spin-transport properties in a thin film form is less explored. Herein, we report the temperature and magnetic field-dependent charge transport properties of a highly crystalline MnP nanorod thin film over a wide temperature range (2 K < T < 350 K). The MnP nanorod films of ~100 nm thickness were grown on Si substrates at 500 °C using molecular beam epitaxy. The temperature-dependent resistivity ρ(T) data exhibit a metallic behavior (dρ/dT > 0) over the entire measured temperature range. However, large negative magnetoresistance (Δρ/ρ) of up to 12% is observed below ~50 K at which the system enters a stable helical (screw) magnetic state. In this temperature regime, the Δρ(H)/ρ(0) dependence also shows a magnetic field-manipulated CONE + FAN phase coexistence. The observed magnetoresistance is dominantly governed by the intergranular spin dependent tunneling mechanism. These findings pinpoint a correlation between the transport and magnetism in this helimagnetic system.

Enhanced Magnetism and Anomalous Hall Transport through Two-Dimensional Tungsten Disulfide Interfaces.

The magnetic proximity effect (MPE) has recently been explored to manipulate interfacial properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)/ferromagnet heterostructures for use in spintronics and valleytronics. However, a full understanding of the MPE and its temperature and magnetic field evolution in these systems is lacking. In this study, the MPE has been probed in Pt/WS2/BPIO (biphase iron oxide, Fe3O4 and α-Fe2O3) heterostructures through a comprehensive investigation of their magnetic and transport properties using magnetometry, four-probe resistivity, and anomalous Hall effect (AHE) measurements. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed to complement the experimental findings. We found that the presence of monolayer WS2 flakes reduces the magnetization of BPIO and hence the total magnetization of Pt/WS2/BPIO at T > ~120 K-the Verwey transition temperature of Fe3O4 (TV). However, an enhanced magnetization is achieved at T < TV. In the latter case, a comparative analysis of the transport properties of Pt/WS2/BPIO and Pt/BPIO from AHE measurements reveals ferromagnetic coupling at the WS2/BPIO interface. Our study forms the foundation for understanding MPE-mediated interfacial properties and paves a new pathway for designing 2D TMD/magnet heterostructures for applications in spintronics, opto-spincaloritronics, and valleytronics.