Spintronic devices and applications using noncollinear chiral antiferromagnets

Abstract

Antiferromagnetic materials have several unique properties, such as a vanishingly small net magnetization, which generates weak dipolar fields and makes them robust against perturbation from external magnetic fields and rapid magnetization dynamics, as dictated by the geometric mean of their exchange and anisotropy energies. However, experimental and theoretical techniques to detect and manipulate the antiferromagnetic order in a fully electrical manner must be developed to enable advanced spintronic devices with antiferromagnets as their active spin-dependent elements. Among the various antiferromagnetic materials, conducting antiferromagnets offer high electrical and thermal conductivities and strong electron–spin–phonon interactions. Noncollinear metallic antiferromagnets with negative chirality, including Mn₃Sn, Mn₃Ge, and Mn₃GaN, offer rich physics of spin momentum locking, topologically protected surface states, large spin Hall conductivity, and a magnetic spin Hall effect that arises from their topology. In this review article, we introduce the crystal structure and the physical phenomena, including the anomalous Hall and Nernst effects, spin Hall effect, and magneto-optic Kerr effect, observed in negative chirality antiferromagnets. Experimental advances related to spin–orbit torque-induced dynamics and the impact of the torque on the microscopic spin structure of Mn₃Sn are also discussed. Recent experimental demonstrations of a finite room-temperature tunneling magnetoresistance in tunnel junctions with chiral antiferromagnets opens the prospect of developing spintronic devices with fully electrical readout. Applications of chiral antiferromagnets, including non-volatile memory, high-frequency signal generators/detectors, neuro-synaptic emulators, probabilistic bits, thermoelectric devices, and Josephson junctions, are highlighted. We also present analytic models that relate the performance characteristics of the device with its design parameters, thus enabling a rapid technology–device assessment. Effects of Joule heating and thermal noise on the device characteristics are briefly discussed. We close the paper by summarizing the status of research and present our outlook in this rapidly evolving research field.