Strong, anisotropic anomalous Hall effect and spin Hall effect in chiral antiferromagnetic compounds Mn$_3X$ ($X$ = Ge, Sn, Ga, Ir, Rh and Pt)

TL;DR

This study uses ab initio calculations to reveal large, anisotropic anomalous and spin Hall effects in chiral antiferromagnetic Mn$_3X$ compounds, highlighting their potential for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive ab initio analysis of the intrinsic anomalous and spin Hall effects in Mn$_3X$ compounds, emphasizing their anisotropic nature and how to optimize these effects.

Findings

Mn$_3$Ga exhibits a large spin Hall conductivity of about 600 $( ext{ extbar}e extbar)/( ext{ extOmega} ext{cm})$

Both AHC and SHC are highly anisotropic in these materials

Band structure analysis links electron filling to Hall conductivities.

Abstract

We have carried out a comprehensive study of the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect and spin Hall effect of several chiral antiferromagnetic compounds, Mn$_3X$ ($X$ = Ge, Sn, Ga, Ir, Rh and Pt) by $ab~initio$ band structure and Berry phase calculations. These studies reveal large and anisotropic values of both the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect and spin Hall effect. The Mn$_3X$ materials exhibit a non-collinear antiferromagnetic order which, to avoid geometrical frustration, forms planes of Mn moments that are arranged in a Kagome-type lattice. With respect to these Kagome planes, we find that both the anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) and the spin Hall conductivity (SHC) are quite anisotropic for any of these materials. Based on our calculations, we propose how to maximize AHC and SHC for different materials. The band structures and corresponding electron filling, that we show are essential to determine the AHC and SHC, are compared for these different compounds. We point out that Mn$_3$Ga shows a large SHC of about 600 $(\hbar/e)(\Omega\cdot cm)^{-1}$. Our work provides insights into the realization of strong anomalous Hall effects and spin Hall effects in chiral antiferromagetic materials.