# Imaging and writing magnetic domains in the non-collinear antiferromagnet Mn$_{\text{3}}$Sn

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates imaging of magnetic domains in non-collinear antiferromagnet Mn3Sn using scanning thermal gradient microscopy and introduces a heat-assisted magnetic recording scheme for domain writing.

## Contribution

It presents the first application of STGM to image non-collinear AFM Mn3Sn and develops a method for writing magnetic domains via heat-assisted recording.

## Key findings

- Magnetic domains in Mn3Sn can be imaged at various temperatures.
- Moderate magnetic fields do not alter the domain structure at room temperature.
- A new heat-assisted magnetic recording scheme is established.

## Abstract

Harnessing the unique properties of non-collinear antiferromagnets (AFMs) will be essential for exploiting the full potential of antiferromagnetic spintronics. Indeed, many of the effects enabling ferromagnetic spintronic devices have a corresponding counterpart in materials with non-collinear spin structure. In addition, new phenomena such as the magnetic spin Hall effect were experimentally observed in non-collinear AFMs, and the presence of the equivalent to the ferromagnetic spin transfer torque via spin polarized currents was theoretically predicted. In spite of these developments, an interpretation of the rich physical phenomena observed in non-collinear antiferromagnets is challenging, since the microscopic spin arrangement, the magnetic domain distribution, and the domain orientations have proven notoriously difficult to access experimentally. This is all the more problematic, as imaging and writing magnetic domains is of central importance for applications. Successful imaging is a basic requirement to experimentally confirm the spin transfer torque acting on non-collinear domain walls and therefore of eminent interest. Here, we demonstrate that the local magnetic structure of the non-collinear AFM Mn3Sn films can be imaged by scanning thermal gradient microscopy (STGM). The technique is based on scanning a laser spot over the sample's surface, and recording the ensuing thermo-voltage. We image the magnetic structure at a series of different temperatures and show that at room temperature, the domain structure is not affected by the application of moderate magnetic fields. In addition to imaging, we establish a scheme for heat-assisted magnetic recording, using local laser heating in combination with magnetic fields to intentionally write domain patterns into the antiferromagnet.