Observation of domain structure in non-collinear antiferromagnetic MnSn thin films by magneto-optical Kerr effect

磁気光学カー効果による非共線的反強磁性体MnSn薄膜のドメイン構造観測

内村 友宏*; Yoon, J.-Y.*; 佐藤 佑磨*; 竹内 祐太郎*; 金井 駿*; 武智 涼太*; 岸 桂輔*; 山根 結太*; DuttaGupta, S.*; 家田 淳一   ; 大野 英男*; 深見 俊輔*

Uchimura, Tomohiro*; Yoon, J.-Y.*; Sato, Yuma*; Takeuchi, Yutaro*; Kanai, Shun*; Takechi, Ryota*; Kishi, Keisuke*; Yamane, Yuta*; DuttaGupta, S.*; Ieda, Junichi; Ohno, Hideo*; Fukami, Shunsuke*

We perform a hysteresis-loop measurement and domain imaging for -oriented -MnSn thin films using magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and compare it with the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) measurement. We obtain a large Kerr rotation angle of 10 mdeg., comparable with bulk single-crystal MnSn. The composition dependence of AHE and MOKE shows a similar trend, suggesting the same origin, i.e., the non-vanishing Berry curvature in the momentum space. Magnetic domain observation at the saturated state shows that x dependence of AHE and MOKE is explained by an amount of reversible area that crucially depends on the crystalline structure of the film. Furthermore, in-depth observation of the reversal process reveals that the reversal starts with nucleation of sub-micrometer-scale domains dispersed in the film, followed by a domain expansion, where the domain wall preferentially propagates along the direction. Our study provides a basic understanding of the spatial evolution of the reversal of chiral-spin structure in non-collinear antiferromagnetic thin films.