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

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; et al.

Applied Physics Letters, 120(17), p.172405_1 - 172405_5, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0089355

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.